Constellation, le dépôt institutionnel de l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Résumé

For the aluminum industry, understanding each step of alumina addition to the electrolysis bath is critical to reach optimal process conditions. From the injection to the complete dissolution, several physical and chemical mechanisms are interacting: solid and fluid mechanics, heat transfer, phase change, and dissolution. The mathematical model presented in this article uses the discrete element method (DEM) to consider the solid alumina powder as a granular material. It is coupled to the “smoothed particle hydrodynamics” (SPH) method to simulate the liquid electrolyte. The second layer of the model is used to calculate the heat transfer and coalescence of solid materials resulting from alumina sintering and bath solidification. Then, phase change is integrated into the model to consider the solidification of the bath. Sequentially, the dissolution of the alumina particles is reproduced and studied to analyse the injection of the alumina in the future.