Seminar über aktuelle Fragen zur Dynamik komplexer Fluide: Mathematical modelling for Søderberg electrodes: A fluid dynamics approach

Seminar über aktuelle Fragen zur Dynamik komplexer Fluide

  • Date: Dec 11, 2020
  • Time: 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Alissa Kamilova
  • University of Oxford, UK
  • Location: Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS)
  • Room: Video conference at www.zoom.us, Meeting ID: 980 3913 9623, Passcode: 050762
  • Host: MPIDS/DCF
  • Contact: corinna.maass@ds.mpg.de
The Søderberg electrode is the most commonly used electrode system, which provides the energy necessary for the production of ferro-alloys and calcium carbide. The paste, a mixture of tar binder and calcined anthracite, is the raw material that makes the electrodes. It is added in the form of solid cylinders, briquettes or blocks, while the casing is lowered at a constant rate. The viscosity of the paste is highly sensitive to changes in temperature, causing it to soften, flow, and then bake as the temperature increases in the electrode. Every once in a while these electrodes can break, interrupting production and resulting in high costs for the company.
In this talk, I will present how a fluid dynamics approach to the flow and temperature in a Søderberg electrode can help us understand where these breakages come from, even when measurements could not. I will use the techniques of asymptotic theory, dynamics, and general differential equations theory to split up the problem into simpler parts, which, despite all simplifying assumptions, recover qualitative and, at times quantitative behaviour observed in practice. Finally, I will show numerical results obtained from these models, with the hopes of convincing you that applied mathematics is a powerful tool that we can and should use to tackle complex industrial problems.
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