Temperature Field Monitoring of an Aluminum Electrolyzer for Lining Defect Diagnosis

Aluminum production is one of the most energy-intensive metallurgical processes, where maintaining the electrolytic cell’s thermal balance is critical to ensuring energy efficiency and equipment service life. Damaging the cathode lining is a serious problem, leading to premature cell failure and significant economic losses. This paper presents a system for the temperature field’s monitoring at the bottom of an aluminum electrolytic cell, designed for the early detection of lining defects. The device is based on an STM32F407 microcontroller and features a distributed network of K-type temperature sensors mounted on the bottom of the electrolytic cell body. Experimental studies were conducted on an OA-300M industrial electrolytic cell, recording the temperature field propagation under various operating conditions. The experimental results were compared with data from subsequent repairs, which confirmed the presence of lining damage in areas of abnormal heating. The proposed method enables the detection of local defects at early stages of their development, which opens up opportunities for predicting the remaining life of the lining and optimizing scheduled preventive maintenance.