Electromagnetic and MHD study to improve cell performance of an end-to-end 86 KA potline

Abstract

Electromagnetic forces in the electrolyte and metal pad region of aluminum reduction cells affect the metal/electrolyte flow pattern and hence the cell performance, indicated by current efficiency and specific energy consumption. Numerical simulation has become an effective tool for analyzing such complex physics. In this paper, an electromagnetic and MHD study conducted for an 86 kA end-to-end potline is described. A detailed three-dimensional electromagnetic model was built in commercial ANSYS software package and steady state MHD (velocities and metal heave) in the cell were computed using CFX software. Magnetic field from the model was validated with the plant measurements. Various busbar configurations were analyzed using the developed model. The results show that new magnetic compensation designs effectively improve the magnetic field, the metal flow profile and the metal heave, thereby providing conditions for improving cell performance.