Investigation of Anodic Gas Film Behavior in Hall–Heroult Cell Using Low Temperature Electrolyte

Alam, Morshed; Yang, William; Mohanarangam, Krishna; Brooks, Geoffrey; Morsi, Yos S.

doi:10.1007/s11663-013-9885-x

Cited by 30 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…[11][12][13][14] With regard to numerical modeling, the first published two-phase CFD model of bath flow in an aluminum cell, [6] developed by Johansen, [15] used the Fluent code in which the bubble phase is simulated with Lagrangian particle tracking and ignores gas volume effects; the modeling was limited to two dimensions because of computational speed constraints at the time. The model results agreed with water modeling work, and also showed that metal flow of the magnitude generated by magnetic forces would not significantly influence electrolyte flows through interfacial stresses, thereby validating the neglect of the metal phase in electrolyte hydrodynamics studies.…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two-Phase CFD Model of the Bubble-Driven Flow in the Molten Electrolyte Layer of a Hall–Héroult Aluminum Cell

Feng

Schwarz

Yang

et al. 2015

Metall Mater Trans B

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A two-phase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to simulate the time-averaged flow in the molten electrolyte layer of a Hall-He´roult aluminum cell. The flow is driven by the rise of carbon dioxide bubbles formed on the base of the anodes. The CFD model has been validated against detailed measurements of velocity and turbulence taken in a full-scale air-water physical model containing three anodes in four different configurations, with varying inter-anode gap and the option of slots. The model predictions agree with the measurements of velocity and turbulence energy for all configurations within the likely measurement repeatability, and therefore can be used to understand the overall electrolyte circulation patterns and mixing. For example, the model predicts that the bubble holdup under an anode is approximately halved by the presence of a slot aligned transverse to the cell long axis. The flow patterns do not appear to be significantly altered by halving the inter-anode gap width from 40 to 20 mm. The CFD model predicts that the relative widths of center, side, and end channels have a major influence on several critical aspects of the cell flow field.

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Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The values plotted in Figure 2 are three-component values with experimental values estimated using Eq. [14].…”

Section: A Configuration 1: Case With 40 MM Inter-anode Gap Width Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two-Phase CFD Model of the Bubble-Driven Flow in the Molten Electrolyte Layer of a Hall–Héroult Aluminum Cell

Feng

Schwarz

Yang

et al. 2015

Metall Mater Trans B

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“…For example, gas bubbles in Hall-Heroult cells have a significant positive role in both homogenization of alumina distribution and the temperature field in the bulk flow. 1 Ultrasound surface cleaning applications use the bubble swarm to clean the solid/liquid interface surface. In this application, bubbles are generated from the electrode and then the ultrasonic irradiation drives the generated bubbles to clean the solid/liquid interface surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review—Physicochemical Hydrodynamics of Gas Bubbles in Two Phase Electrochemical Systems

Taqieddin

Nazari

Rajić

et al. 2017

J. Electrochem. Soc.

116

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Electrochemical systems suffer from poor management of evolving gas bubbles. Improved understanding of bubbles behavior helps to reduce overpotential, save energy and enhance the mass transfer during chemical reactions. This work investigates and reviews the gas bubbles hydrodynamics, behavior, and management in electrochemical cells. Although the rate of bubble growth over the electrode surface is well understood, there is no reliable prediction of bubbles break-off diameter from the electrode surface because of the complexity of bubbles motion near the electrode surface. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) are the most common experimental techniques to measure bubble dynamics. Although the PIV is faster than LDA, both techniques are considered expensive and time-consuming. This encourages adapting Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods as an alternative to study bubbles behavior. However, further development of CFD methods is required to include coalescence and break-up of bubbles for better understanding and accuracy. The disadvantages of CFD methods can be overcome by using hybrid methods. The behavior of bubbles in electrochemical systems is still a complex challenging topic which requires a better understanding of the gas bubbles hydrodynamics and their interactions with the electrode surface and bulk liquid, as well as between the bubbles itself.

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“…The bubble dynamics are difficult to measure due to the harsh operating conditions in the real aluminum reduction cell. Some researchers − developed the air–water and low-temperature reaction models to study bubble behaviors. Fortin et al explored the relationship between the current density and bubble motions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The maximum bubble thickness is about 2 cm. Alam et al 3 investigated the bubble motion beneath the anode in the CuSO 4 solution. In their model, the bubbles are generated by the electrochemical reaction instead of by injecting air under the anode.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale Simulation of Bubble Behavior in Aluminum Reduction Cell Using a Combined Discrete-Bubble-Model–Volume-of-Fluid–Magnetohydrodynamical Method

Sun

2019

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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The physics of aluminum electrolysis process involves many spatial scales, generating a wide variety of bubbles of different sizes in the magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) flow. To capture the dynamics of bubble nucleation, growth, coalescence and the interactions among bubble–bath–metal, each scale needs to be resolved with the appropriate method. The present study proposes a three-dimensional (3D) multiscale multiphase flow model for bubble behaviors and bath–metal MHD flow, where the large-scale interfaces of bubble–bath and bath–metal are resolved by the volume of fluid (VOF) approach and the dispersed microbubbles are resolved by Lagrangian discrete bubble model (DBM). A discrete-continuum transition model is proposed to bridge different scales and handle the multiscale bubbles coexisting at the anode bottom. The predicted gas coverage and bubble thickness are validated by the experimental data in the literature. The numerical results indicate that bath–metal MHD flow accelerates the bubble motion and decreases gas coverage.

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Investigation of Anodic Gas Film Behavior in Hall–Heroult Cell Using Low Temperature Electrolyte

Cited by 30 publications

References 17 publications

Two-Phase CFD Model of the Bubble-Driven Flow in the Molten Electrolyte Layer of a Hall–Héroult Aluminum Cell

Two-Phase CFD Model of the Bubble-Driven Flow in the Molten Electrolyte Layer of a Hall–Héroult Aluminum Cell

Review—Physicochemical Hydrodynamics of Gas Bubbles in Two Phase Electrochemical Systems

Multiscale Simulation of Bubble Behavior in Aluminum Reduction Cell Using a Combined Discrete-Bubble-Model–Volume-of-Fluid–Magnetohydrodynamical Method

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