Recently, it was recommended by the Gansu Federation of Trade Unions and the Technical Association of staff and workers of Gansu province, the project “A kind of high temperature resistant and deformation resistant electrolytic cell steel and its preparation method” won the Silver Award for the project of the twenty-fifth national invention exhibition.
To solve the huge economic loss caused by the replacement of the traditional materials during the service of the aluminum reduction cell, according to the research and development and production of the steel used for the aluminum reduction cell shell in the industry, after six years’ persistence, a new type of steel for the shell of large-scale aluminum reduction cell has been developed for the first time in China. (LCK460, LCK550, LCK600) by the National Steel Standard Commission and the Department of Science and Technology of Gansu Province, JISCO’s innovative development of high-performance aluminum electrolytic cell shell used in complex field service environment steel plates has solved the problem of“Have or have not” of the steel plate used for the shell of the large-scale aluminum electrolytic cell in our country and has reached the international advanced level.
To ensure that the aluminum reduction cell can better adapt to the complex field service environment, the project team carried out a new design for the aluminum reduction cell shell steel, a great deal of research has been done on the mechanism of high-temperature resistance, deformation resistance and graphitization resistance, high-temperature creeps resistance, life prediction, welding performance, and process evaluation, the problems of a crack in CR-MO microalloyed steel slab and low yield strength of steel plate have been solved for a long time. The developed product has the characteristics of high-temperature resistance, deformation resistance, graphitization resistance, easy welding, long life, and so on, the life of the cell can be increased up to 2 times, which realizes the development of the cell materials, production, equipment design, manufacture, and application.
“From 2016’s first-generation high-temperature electrolytic cell case steel to 2019’s second-generation high-temperature electrolytic cell case steel with graphitization resistance, all the work is not done overnight, but a continuous r & D process of looking back, reorganizing and upgrading,” said Yang Xinlong, the project leader and patent author. Through on-site working conditions investigation and experimental research, the technical team overcame the difficulties of the project technology from scratch to continuous improvement, the high-temperature mechanical properties, magnetic permeability, electrical conductivity, and other physical properties of the steel for the shell of the electrolytic cell are gradually becoming more stable.
Yang Xinlong introduced high-life large-scale aluminum electrolytic cell shell steel products that are the first in China. At the beginning of the design, references were scarce, so the team could only analyze the cells one by one according to the working condition on the spot, the use of a gas cutting gun to dissect and analyze every damaged part of the 20-meter-long damaged electrolytic cell, and to carry out big data simulation calculations, under the circumstances that the design of the electrolytic cell is based on, from design theory analysis to pilot test, monitoring, and then industrial production.
Although the project involves non-ferrous, Black, mechanical, welding, and other multidisciplinary knowledge, JISCO has a sound steel industry chain system, team members cooperate, based on their strong technical ability, with the United Nations Institute of Internal Medicine, from the electrolytic aluminum technology and groove upgrading process, to explore the upgrading of steel design and microstructure and performance control technology, at last, the project of new steel grade for the shell of a large-scale aluminum electrolytic cell with high-temperature resistance and graphitization resistance in China is the first of its kind, and it has entered the international advanced level. At the same time, the industry standard of“YB/T4939-2021 steel plate for aluminum electrolytic cell shell” is put forward and formulated.
At present, JISCO has developed large-scale aluminum electrolytic cell shell steel products that have been dong xing aluminum, xinfa, and other users of high recognition, at this stage, three steel patent is being prepared. Yang Xinlong said: “In the next step, the mill will adopt a multi-product marketing approach to win-win cooperation, improve the electrolytic aluminum industry on the product one-time investment in the follow-up income, to enhance the name of the product and market competitiveness.”. This patent application for electrolytic cell steel is not the end, but a new beginning. We want to form electrolytic steel’ design, smelting, rolling, welding, life prediction’ patent pool, in the form of patents to protect the intellectual property rights of JISCO products. “We should take the opportunity to set industry standards, accelerate the promotion of the whole industry, and let users enjoy the R & D dividends of JISCO, to achieve a win-win situation for all.”
