Modeling power modulation

Abstract

With the recent power shortage in the USA, aluminum smelters are getting strong incentive to reduce their power consumption during peak demand. This power modulation can be quite harmful to the cells if not done properly. Yet, some smelters in Brazil [1,2] are now successfully managing power modulation on a routinely basis following a long and expensive learning curve. Nowadays however, efficient dynamic cell simulator can be used in order to accelerate this learning curve and reduce the risk involved in performing power modulation without enough background experience. In this paper, two dynamic models are applied to study power modulation: an ANSYS based 2D+ full cell slice thermo-electric model and a much faster "lump parameter+" model.