About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Aluminum Reduction Technology
|
| Presentation Title |
Coupled Thermal-Electrical-Mechanical Model for Cathode-Collector Bar Joint Analysis |
| Author(s) |
Venkannababu Thalagani, Tushar Thorat, Amit Jha, Amit Gupta |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Venkannababu Thalagani |
| Abstract Scope |
In modern aluminium reduction cells, cathode voltage drop (CVD) contributes approximately 12–15% of the total ohmic losses, with 35–40% of this drop originating from the cast iron joint between the collector bar and cathode block. To address this issue, a fully coupled thermal-electrical-mechanical finite element model was developed to simulate contact pressure, voltage drop, and temperature distribution across the joint. The model uses an augmented Lagrangian contact formulation to accurately represent thermo-mechanical interactions. The contact stiffness value is calculated and iteratively updated to prevent penetration between contact and target surfaces. This approach ensures realistic pressure distribution. The electrical contact resistance is modelled as a function of both contact pressure and temperature. The paper will describe the model, its validation against a high amperage cell data and an analysis to improve joint design for CVD reduction thereby energy efficiency. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: Light Metals |
| Keywords |
Other, Other, Other |