Effects of Stub Hole Button on Anode of Aluminum Reduction Cell

Abstract

In China, a special anode design with a button in each stub hole is adopted by many smelters. To investigate the effects of the stub hole button on the anode, numerical simulations of the anode rodding process and the running process of the conventional anode without a stub hole button (design A) and the special design (design B) were conducted. In anode rodding, design B shows worse cooling capacity than design A, while the air gap of design B (0.39 mm to 0.94 mm) is larger than that of design A (0.3 mm to 0.45 mm). During the anode running process, the stub hole button could contact neither the cast iron nor the stub, and the anode voltage drop of design B is 26 mV larger than that of design A because the larger air gap deteriorates the cast iron–carbon contact. In conclusion, the stub hole button should be removed.