Authors: D. Richard, P. Goulet (Laval University), O. Trempe (Laval University), M. Dupuis (GeniSIM) and M. Fafard (Laval University)
The Minerals Society, San Francisco, February 18, 2009
Abstract
Reduction of cell voltage through redesign of the stub holes of cast iron rodded anodes is an attractive idea. In practice, stub hole optimisation is not an easy task and in situ trials may yield what seem to be counter-intuitive results.
A closer examination reveals a complex behaviour of the steel stub - cast iron - carbon joint. It was shown in previous work
to be a non-linear thermal-electrical-mechanical coupled system. Minimisation of the stub-to-carbon voltage drop is a balancing act between contact surface area and electrical contact resistance.
To gain insights into the merits of different designs, a finite
element demonstration model was built using the in-house code FESh++. Alternative configurations were studied. Potential
industrial applications are discussed.
