CFD modelling of alumina mixing in aluminium reduction cells

Abstract

Aluminium reduction cells have been continuously improved to reduce energy consumption and increase metal production rates. One method of reducing energy consumption is to operate the cell at low anode-cathode distances (ACDs). Line currents have been increased to increase production rates, which often requires larger anodes to maintain an acceptable current density. These changes may have a significant impact on aspects of cell performance such as bath flow and alumina mixing. In previous work, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of bath hydrodynamics and alumina mixing in an aluminium reduction cell has been developed. The bath hydrodynamics has been validated using water model data. In the present work, the CFD model has been used to study the effect of alumina feeder location and feeding strategy in a typical full-scale industrial cell.