Side ledge formation in aluminum electrolysis cells - influence of the operating conditions and the heat losses distribution of the transient thermal response

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This research proposal aims at the development of new knowledge and engineering tools in order to understand the dynamics of the heat balance inside an aluminum electrolysis cell (AEC). The resulting technology transfer will help the engineers of this industry to design optimized electrochemical reactors, with increased lifespan, lower energy consumption and smaller environmental footprint. It will provide them with new sensors, new methodologies and algorithms that will open up new possibilities for a tighter control of the thermal dissipation of AEC. The proposed work is divided in 2 complementary parts to meet the following challenges: - Major overhaul of an existing numerical model to predict the thermal behaviour of an AEC inside its industrial environment and its calibration based on thermal measurements taken on industrial AEC. The model will take into account the most contributing phenomena present in the cell. It will focus on the formation / destruction of the side ledge that controls the thermal dissipation of the sidewall. - Development of a new sensor to be used on the side shell of an AEC to assess the quality of the thermal contact between the sidewall and the steel shell and to estimate the ledge thickness that builds up inside AEC. Thanks to the research activities described in this proposal, new cutting-edge knowledge related to cell heat balance, which is a critical aspect of the AEC technology, will be developed. Adapted measurement and calibration methods, specialized models and a new sensor to estimate the side ledge thickness will be delivered to the scientists from the aluminium production industry. These non-intrusive engineering tools are essential to estimate and analyze the online heat dissipation, to improve the energetic performance of new designs of AEC, and to open up new opportunities related to energy efficiency.