Effect of Current Transient Enhancement on Thermal Field of Aluminum Electrolysis Cell for the Accommodation of Wind Power

To realize the idea of accommodating wind power nearby the aluminum plant and achieving a win–win situation in China, a great deal of basic research is still necessary. In this study, a transiently strongly coupled model of thermo-electric field was developed, in order to explore the dynamic characteristics of temperature distributions and heat dissipation in aluminum electrolysis cell under current enhancement. The results show that when the current is enhanced by no more than 10% within 2 h, the profile of the ledge varies little. The higher the current is, the faster the temperature of the bath rises and the more difficult it is to restore to the normal state (948.2 °C) in a short time (2 h). The heat dissipation rate of the upper part of cell change obviously compared to the other parts, but little in rising ratio. Therefore, four methods to adjust heat dissipation were modeled and the result shows it is effective to decrease the temperature to the normal state in a short time.