Evolution of the Busbar Structure in Large-Scale Aluminum Reduction Cells

Studies of magnetic field and magneto-hydro-dynamics are regarded as the foundation for the development of large-scale aluminum reduction cells, while due to the direct relationship between the busbar configuration and magnetic compensation, the actual key content is the configuration of the busbar. As the line current has been increased from 160 kA to 600 kA, the configuration of the busbar was becoming more complex. To summarize and explore the evolution of busbar configuration in aluminum reduction cells, this paper has reviewed various representative large-scale pre-baked aluminum reduction cell busbar structures, such as end-to-end potlines, side-by-side potlines and external compensation current. The advantages and disadvantages in the magnetic distribution or technical specifications have also been introduced separately, especially for the configurations of the mainstream 400-kA potlines. In the end, the development trends of the bus structure configuration were prospected, based on the recent successful applications of super-scale cell busbar structures in China (500–600 kA).