About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Aluminum Reduction Technology
|
| Presentation Title |
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Decreasing Performance of the Cathode Assembly |
| Author(s) |
Omolbanin Saeidi, Daniel Marceau, Simon-Olivier Tremblay, Mohammed Rachik, Antoine Godefroy |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Omolbanin Saeidi |
| Abstract Scope |
Accounting for nearly 8% of the 4.2 V operating voltage in aluminum reduction cells, the electrical contact resistance (ECR) at the cast iron/carbon interface (CCI) is a primary contributor to the cathode voltage drop. ECR is influenced by temperature but also, by the contact pressure which highly depends on the initial air gap formed at the CCI during cathode sealing. During start-up and operation, thermo-mechanical deformations in the cathode assembly’s components alter the CCI, reducing contact pressure which decrease ECR. This study combines experimental and numerical approaches to investigate the impact of this evolution. The initial air gap distribution is determined using 3D scanning and the thermo-mechanical behavior of the cathode assembly, including creep, is experimentally characterized. A thermo-electro-mechanical finite element model has been developed in ANSYS™ software and the results show that creep deformations account for approximately 23% of the total cathode voltage drop as reported on operational reduction cells. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: Light Metals |
| Keywords |
Modeling and Simulation, Process Technology, Characterization |