Abstract

GUTIERREZ, Edgar  and  TOLENTINO, San Luis. Determination of the critical convection coefficient for the modification of a cooling system of anode. uct [online]. 2005, vol.9, n.35, pp.147-150. ISSN 1316-4821.

The aluminum production in the world is carried out through the Hall-Heroult process, by means of aluminum reduction cells. One of the inputs required for the aluminum production are the anodes, which react with oxygen contained in the alumina and form carbon dioxide; this is when a current of high amperage (between 180 kA to 350 kA) passes through them. The green anodes, after they leave the vibro-compactor at a temperature between 150°C to 160°C go through a cooling system by immersion in water to acquire the necessary hardness to be transported to a room of ovens where the cooking procedure is carried out. In this work, the calculation of the critical convection coefficient is presented to validate the possibility of increasing the capacity of the current cooling system for a possible raise of the production of anodes. The procedure used was of experimental design, since it was required an analytic study and some measurements were taken to validate some properties required. The results show that the critical convection coefficient for this cooling system is of 600 W/m2K.

Keywords : Aluminum Reduction Cells; Anodes; Convection Coefficient; Cooling System.