Busbar arrangement for electrolytic cells

Abstract

With end-to-end electrolytic cells, in particular cells for producing aluminum, high investment and operating costs are incurred by the arrangement of the busbars outside the cell. The magnetic fields produced by the busbars give rise to streaming of the metal in the cell. By providing direct connections between the individual anodes and the electrically connected busbars running along the side of the cell, in a plane just above the anodes, the costs are lowered and the harmful effects of the magnetic fields diminished. A further effect countering the magnetic forces created by the busbars can be achieved by an asymmetric arrangement in which the busbars are at different distances from the cathode bar ends or by connecting an unequal number of cathode bar ends to busbars on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the cell.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.