METHODS AND SYSTEM FOR PREPARING AND INSTALLING BRICK ASSEMBLIES ON THE FLOOR OF AN ELECTROLYSIS CELL

Abstract

Brick assemblies are prepared for covering the floor of an electrolysis cell. A tiling pattern is overlaid on a floor plan. Virtual tiles of the tiling pattern have a size and a shape of a template. Each brick assembly is formed to match zero or more departures from the template of a portion of the floor overlaid by each virtual tile. The brick assemblies are placed in piles and successively picked up for placement in adjacent positions on the floor of the electrolysis cell. Successive brick layers may be installed, in which tiling patterns are shifted to avoid overlap of the edges of bricks of the successive brick layers. A system comprises a working bench to prepare the brick assemblies, a vacuum brick lifter carried by a motorized structure to pick up and position the brick assemblies, and a controller to control the preparation and installation of the brick assemblies.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE

The present application claims priority from Canadian Patent Application No., 3,096,361, filed on Oct. 19, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of aluminum smelting. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to methods and to a system for preparing and installing brick assemblies on the floor of an electrolysis cell.

BACKGROUND

Potlining is a procedure used for the building and maintenance of electrolysis cells found in aluminum smelters. One of the main aspects of potlining consists in the installation of materials, such as bricks, cathodes, blocks and ramming paste, in several airtight and resistant layers that protect the structure of the electrolysis cell from the heat generated by aluminum melting processes.

Bricks made of refractory material are laid on the floor of the electrolysis cell. Conventional bricks may typically have a 110 mm width, a 220 mm length, and a 60 mm height. These measurements are not precise, and each brick may have its own tolerance. Grouting is frequently added at junctions between adjacent bricks in order to provide sealing therebetween.

As bricks layers are positioned on top of one another, care is taken so that junctions between adjacent bricks of one layer are not located above junctions of another layer immediately underneath it. To this end, it is necessary to cut many bricks at installation time. This requires intensive use of manpower and time, and is thus costly.

Therefore, there is a need for improvements potlining processes that compensate for problems related to the long installation time and to the amount of manpower required to lay bricks on the floor of an electrolysis cell.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a method for preparing a plurality of brick assemblies for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell, comprising:

• • overlaying a tiling pattern on a plan of the floor of the electrolysis cell, each virtual tile of the tiling pattern having a size and a shape of a template;
  • identifying, for each virtual tile of the tiling pattern, zero or more departures of a portion of the floor of electrolysis cell overlaid by the virtual tile of the tiling pattern from the size and the shape of the template; and
  • for each given virtual tile of the tiling pattern having at least one departure from the size and the shape of the template, adjusting a size and a shape of a corresponding brick assembly so that the corresponding brick assembly matches a size and a shape of a given portion of the floor of the electrolysis cell overlaid by the given virtual tile of the tiling pattern.

In an embodiment of the present technology, adjusting the size and the shape of the corresponding brick assembly comprises cutting one or more bricks of the corresponding brick assembly.

In an embodiment of the present technology, cutting one or more bricks of the corresponding brick assembly comprises adjusting a size and a shape of each brick of the corresponding brick assembly according to a standard brick size and a standard brick shape.

In an embodiment of the present technology, the template comprises a predetermined number of bricks; and adjusting the size and the shape of the corresponding brick assembly comprises forming the corresponding brick assembly by combining fewer bricks than the predetermined number of bricks.

According to the present disclosure, there is also provided a method for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell, comprising:

preparing a plurality of brick assemblies using the method for preparing a plurality of brick assemblies for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell;

• • placing one or more subsets of the plurality of brick assemblies in one or more piles;
  • laying the brick assemblies of a given pile on the floor of the electrolysis cell by:
    • successively picking up the brick assemblies of the given pile from a top of the given pile, and
    • placing each successively picked up brick assembly on the floor of the electrolysis cell in an adjacent position to a previously picked up brick assembly.

In an embodiment of the present technology, the method further comprises successively picking up and placing on the floor of the electrolysis cell the brick assemblies of a second pile after having picked up and placed on the floor of the electrolysis cell the brick assemblies of a first pile.

In an embodiment of the present technology, the plurality of brick assemblies are placed on the floor of the electrolysis cell by: laying a first number of adjacent brick assemblies along a width of the electrolysis cell to form a first row of adjacent brick assemblies extending across the width of the electrolysis cell; and laying a second number of adjacent bricks along the width of the electrolysis cell so to form a second row of adjacent bricks extending across the width of the electrolysis cell, the second row of adjacent bricks being contiguous to the first row of adjacent brick assemblies.

In an embodiment of the present technology, a first brick assembly picked up from the first pile is placed in a first corner of the floor of the electrolysis cell.

In an embodiment of the present technology, a last brick assembly picked up from a bottom of a last pile is placed in a second corner of the floor of the electrolysis cell at an opposite end from the first corner.

In an embodiment of the present technology, the tiling pattern is a first tiling pattern for a first brick layer for covering the floor of the electrolysis cell; the brick assemblies are first brick assemblies of the first brick layer; the method further comprising: overlaying, on the plan of the floor of the electrolysis cell, a second tiling pattern fora second brick layer, each virtual tile of the second tiling pattern having the size and the shape of the template, the second tiling pattern being shifted in relation to the first tiling pattern in a first direction by less than a first dimension of bricks of the first brick layer and in a second direction by less than a second dimension of the bricks of the first brick layer; identifying, for each virtual tile of the second tiling pattern, zero or more departures of a portion of the floor of electrolysis cell overlaid by the virtual tile of the tiling pattern from the size and the shape of the template; and for each given virtual tile of the second tiling pattern having at least one departure from the size and the shape of the template, adjusting a size and a shape of a corresponding second brick assembly so that the corresponding second brick assembly matches a size and a shape of a given portion of the floor of the electrolysis cell overlaid by the given virtual tile of the second tiling pattern.

According to the present disclosure, there is also provided a method for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell, comprising:

• • preparing brick assemblies of first and second pluralities of brick assemblies;
  • placing one or more first subsets of the first plurality of brick assemblies in one or more first piles;
  • placing one or more second subsets of the second plurality of brick assemblies in one or more second piles;
  • forming the first brick layer for covering the floor of the electrolysis cell by:
    • successively picking up the first brick assemblies of a given first pile from a top of the given first pile, and
    • placing each successively picked up first brick assembly on the floor of the electrolysis cell in an adjacent position to a previously picked up first brick assembly, wherein the first brick assemblies are successively picked up from the one or more first piles until the floor of the electrolysis cell is covered by the first plurality of brick assemblies; and
  • forming a second brick layer for covering first brick layer by:
    • successively picking up the second brick assemblies of a given second pile from a top of the given second pile, and
    • placing each successively picked up second brick assembly on top of the first brick layer in an adjacent position to a previously picked up second brick assembly, wherein the second brick assemblies are successively picked upon from the one or more second piles until the first brick layer is covered by the second plurality of brick assemblies.

The present disclosure further relates to a system, comprising:

• • a working bench adapted to prepare brick assemblies;
  • a vacuum brick lifter adapted to hold and release the prepared brick assemblies;
  • a motorized structure adapted to move along sides of an electrolysis cell and to carry the vacuum brick lifter; and
  • a controller comprising:
    • an input/output device operatively connected to the working bench, to the vacuum brick lifter and to the motorized structure,
    • a processor operatively connected to the input/output device, and
    • a memory device comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon machine executable instructions for performing, when executed by the processor, the method for preparing a plurality of brick assemblies for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell and/or the methods for covering the floor of the electrolysis cell.

The foregoing and other features will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of illustrative embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the disclosure will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum brick lifter according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vacuum brick lifter of FIG. 1 supported by a motorized structure according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a working bench for forming brick assemblies according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pallet according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an electrolysis cell, in which a floor is partially covered by brick assemblies according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the electrolysis cell of FIG. 5, showing an operation for picking up a next brick assembly using the vacuum brick lifter according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the electrolysis cell of FIG. 5, showing an operation for bringing the next brick assembly in a position adjacent to a previous brick assembly according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the electrolysis cell of FIG. 5, showing an operation for releasing the next brick assembly from the vacuum brick lifter according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 9 is an example of a pile of prepared brick assemblies ready for installation in the electrolysis cell according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 10 is an example of a prepared brick assembly, in which the bricks are assembled with mortar according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a workshop version of the vacuum brick lifter and of a workshop floor partially covered with brick assemblies according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 12 is another perspective view of the workshop version of the vacuum brick lifter and of the workshop floor partially covered with brick assemblies according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 13 is an illustrative, top plan view of the floor of the electrolysis cell with an overlaid tiling pattern according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 14 is an illustrative, top plan view of a portion of the floor of the electrolysis cell with two overlaid tiling patterns according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing operations of a method for preparing a plurality of brick assemblies for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing sub-operations for adjusting a size and a shape of a brick assembly according to an embodiment of the present technology;

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing operations of a method for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell according to an embodiment of the present technology; and

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a controller of a system for preparing brick assemblies and for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell with the brick assemblies according to an embodiment of the present technology.

Like numerals represent like features on the various drawings. Unless otherwise noted, the various Figures are not to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally address one or more of the problems related to the long installation time and to the amount of manpower required to lay bricks on the floor of an electrolysis cell.

The present technology comprises a method for relining the floor of an electrolysis cells. A number of brick assemblies are preformed and then moved to their resting position on the floor of the electrolysis cell by a vacuum brick lifter. The bricks of a brick assembly may be grouted, so that they remain fixedly jointed, before being moved to their resting position. Grouting may be made, for example, using mortar or another adhesive. Alternatively, the bricks of the brick assembly may be left unattached and the vacuum brick lifter may be configured to hold them in position when they are unattached. The vacuum brick lifter may itself be supported by a support structure overhanging above the floor of the electrolysis cell.

In a non-limiting example, the support structure for the vacuum brick lifter may be as described in Canadian Patent No. 2,842,083 to Danny Gagnon, issued on Jul. 7, 2015 (hereinafter “Gagnon '083”). An apparatus introduced in Gagnon '083 comprises a motorized structure having a pair of supports configured to stand on both sides of the electrolysis cell. The motorized structure is adapted to carry an interchangeable module above the electrolysis cell. A processing unit of the interchangeable module is carried on the motorized structure. The processing unit is programmed to operate the interchangeable module. An alignment system connected to the processing unit is configured to control movement of the motorized structure along a longitudinal axis of the electrolysis cell. Examples of the interchangeable modules disclosed in Gagnon '083 include a cathode lifting module, a vacuum lifting module, and a compaction module. The above-mentioned vacuum brick lifter may be used as one of the interchangeable modules carried by the motorized structure and operated by the processing unit.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum brick lifter 10. The vacuum brick lifter 10 can be suspended from a structure (shown in FIG. 2) using for example a connecting rod (FIG. 2) connected to an attachment point 12. The vacuum brick lifter 10 comprises a number of suction cups 14 disposed on its lower face. The suction cups 14 are placed in a matrix formed of a plurality of rows 16 and a plurality of columns 18, for example five rows 16 and ten columns 18 as illustrated on FIG. 1. A network of conduits 20 connect the rows 16 and the columns 18 to provide vacuum to each of the suction cups 14. Electric or hydraulic actuators 22 are used to apply and then release the vacuum in the conduits 20, effectively causing the vacuum brick lifter 10 to hold a number of bricks on which the suction cups 14 are resting and then to release the bricks when placed in a desired position.

In an embodiment, the vacuum brick lifter 10 may have a 300 KG lifting capacity. Size and positioning of the suction cups 14 are selected in view of lengths and widths of the bricks, which may for example have a 220 mm length and a 110 mm width. In the non-limiting example of FIG. 1, the vacuum brick lifter 10 may hold up to 50 bricks in a brick assembly that contains In another non-limiting embodiment, the vacuum brick lifter may comprise 40 distinct suction cups 14 and be able to support a brick assembly comprising 40 bricks, whether or not the bricks are fixedly assembled within the brick assembly, for example using mortar or another adhesive.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vacuum brick lifter 10 of FIG. 1 supported by a motorized structure 30. The motorized structure 30 has a pair of wheeled supports 32 configured to stand on both sides of an electrolysis cell (FIG. 6). The motorized structure 30 supports a processing unit 34 connected to the vacuum brick lifter 10 by way of a cable 36. Although not shown, the cable 36 may comprise a signalling link connected to the actuators 22 of the vacuum brick lifter 10, the signalling link carrying commands from the processing unit 34 for applying and releasing vacuum in the conduits 20 and in the suction cups 14. A positioning sensor (not shown) of the vacuum brick lifter 10 may provide positioning information to the processing unit 34 via the signalling link, allowing to precisely locate the vacuum brick lifter 10 for installation of the brick assemblies.

A control panel 38 contains an alignment system (not shown) operatively connected to the processing unit 34. The alignment system is operatively connected to a first motorized drive 40 for controlling a movement of the motorized structure 30 along a longitudinal axis 42 of the electrolysis cell. The alignment system is operatively connected to a second motorized drive 44 for controlling a lateral movement of the processing unit 34 on a pair of beams 46 of the motorized structure 30, the beams 46 being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 42 of the electrolysis cell. Longitudinal movements of the motorized structure 30 and lateral movements of the processing unit 34 allow positioning the vacuum brick lifter 10 over the entire floor of the electrolysis cell and to install bricks over its entire floor surface.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a working bench 50 for forming brick assemblies. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pallet 70. Bricks 80, for example refractory bricks or insulated bricks, are placed on a receiving station 52 of the working bench 50 using any conventional manual or mechanical means. For example and without limitation, the bricks 80 may be loaded on the receiving station 52 from an ordinary wood pallet. Each brick 80 is picked up by one, by an operator who brings the bricks 80 to a shaper 56 located on a positioning station 58 of the working bench 50. It is contemplated that the working bench 50 may include a robotized arm (not shown) adapted to displace the bricks 80, for example one by one, from the receiving station 52 to the positioning station 58. A perimeter of the shaper 56 defines a template for an ideal brick assembly 82 formed of a plurality of bricks 80. The shaper 56 may be configured to tightly hold the bricks 80 in view of minimizing any gap therebetween. As a non-limiting example, the template may be rectangular in shape and comprise a predetermined number of bricks assembled in a predetermined number of rows and a predetermined number of columns, which are respectively less than or equal to the numbers of rows 16 and columns 18 formed of the suction cups 14 of the vacuum brick lifter 10.

In practice, each of several brick assemblies 82 have respective predetermined configurations designed so that they will fully cover the floor of the electrolysis cell, which may be irregular, without any gap therebetween, when installed. Before being picked up by the operator (or the robotized arm), some of the bricks 80 may be precisely cut on any of its edges by a pivotable and longitudinally moveable cutting tool 60, for example a saw having a rotative blade, according to the predetermined configuration of the brick assembly 82 that will be formed when the operator (or the robotized arm) brings the cut bricks 80 to the shaper 56. It is further contemplated that the robotized arm or another robotized tool may lay mortar on the bricks 80 of the brick assemblies 82.

For example and without limitation, if a corner of the electrolysis cell is slightly rounded, a brick assembly 82 that is planned to be positioned in that corner will also be slightly rounded and, consequently, at least some of the bricks 80 forming this brick assembly 82 will be cut accordingly by the cutting tool 60.

The bricks 80 of a first brick assembly 82 are placed on the pallet 70, which is received in the positioning station 58 of the working bench 50, on an electric or pneumatic elevator 62. The pallet 70 includes openings 72 underneath its top surface 74. These openings 72 are adapted for inserting therein the forks of a forklift (shown in a later Figure) for moving the pallet 70. It is contemplated that a crane may be used to move the pallet 70. In an embodiment, the pallet 70 is constructed of fiberglass or of another durable material that can be reused and that will not be deformed under the weight of a pile 84 of brick assemblies 82. Then, the bricks 80 of a next brick assembly 82 are placed on top of the first brick assembly 82. The pneumatic elevator 62 is used to maintain a brick assembly 82 being formed at the top of the pile 84 at a level of the bricks 80 on the receiving station 52. The pile 84 of brick assemblies 82 is thus formed on top of the pallet 70. The topmost brick assembly 82 of the pile 84 is the last one having been assembled on the working bench 50 and will be the first one to be picked up from the pile 84 by the vacuum brick lifter 10 for installation on the floor of the electrolysis cell. The various components of the working bench 50 may be controlled from an operation station 64. A vacuum dust collection system (not shown) may also be present in the working bench 50.

As each brick assembly 82 is formed, the bricks 80 may optionally be fixedly jointed using mortar or another adhesive. In such case, a small gap, for example 1.25 mm, may be left between each brick 80 to allow the mortar to flow between the bricks.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an electrolysis cell 100, in which a floor 110 is partially covered by brick assemblies 82. A pallet 70 carrying a pile 84 of brick assemblies 82 is brought in proximity of the electrolysis cell 100, for example being carried by a forklift 120. In the example of FIG. 5, the operation 122 of the forklift 120 places the pallet 70 and its pile 84 of brick assemblies 82 on a receiving platform 130 positioned at one end of the electrolysis cell 100.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the electrolysis cell 100 of FIG. 5, showing an operation for picking up a next brick assembly 82 using the vacuum brick lifter 10. The motorized structure 30 brings the vacuum brick lifter 10 in position overhanding the receiving platform 130, allowing the vacuum brick lifter 10 to pick up a brick assembly 82 at the top of the pile 84. As illustrated, the operator 122 may move the forklift 120 away from the electrolysis cell 100, as the pile 84 is resting on the receiving platform 130. An embodiment in which there would be no receiving platform is also contemplated, in which case the forklift 120 would remain in position as the vacuum brick lifter 10 is emptying the pile 84, one brick assembly 82 at a time. Another operator 140 uses a remote controller 142, which is operatively connected to the control panel 38 of the motorized structure 30, either by wired or wireless connection. The remote controller 142, which is illustratively depicted as a display of the remote controller 142, is used by the operation 140 to control the motorized structure 30 and of the vacuum brick lifter 10. On FIG. 6, the display 142 shows that brick assemblies 82 numbered 1 to 14 have already been installed on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 and that the vacuum brick lifter 10 is getting ready to pick up a brick assembly 82 for installation in a 15^th position on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. Much of the operations of the motorized structure 30 and of the vacuum brick lifter 10 may be automated; regardless the operator 140 may maintain an oversight of the brick laying operation and bring corrective actions, when necessary.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the electrolysis cell 100 of FIG. 5, showing an operation for bringing the next brick assembly 82₁₄ in a position adjacent to a previous brick assembly 82₁₃. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the electrolysis cell 100 of FIG. 5, showing an operation for releasing the next brick assembly 82₁₄ from the vacuum brick lifter 10. On FIG. 8, the display 142 shows that the 14^th brick assembly is now installed on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell.

FIGS. 5 to 8 show two operators 122 and 140, one of which is operating the forklift 120 while the other is overseeing the installation of the brick assemblies 82 on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. While FIGS. 6 to 9 are not to scale, they do provide a realistic, non-limiting example of a size of the electrolysis cell 100, of the vacuum brick lifter 10, and of the motorized structure 30. In these examples, the overall length of the electrolysis cell is 8 times the length and 3 times the width of a single brick assembly 82. Each brick assembly contains 5 rows by 9 columns of bricks, each brick having a length of 220 mm and a width of 110 mm. The illustrated electrolysis cell 100 therefore has an 8.8-meter length and a 3.0-meter width. In another non-limiting example, the electrolysis cell 100 may have a 12-meter length and a 4-meter width. Other sizes of the electrolysis cell 100 are also contemplated.

FIG. 9 is an example of a pile 84 of prepared brick assemblies 82 ready for installation in the electrolysis cell 100. In the pile 84 as shown on FIG. 9, the brick 80 have smooth edges and form brick assemblies 82 that each include four rows 16 and nine columns 18 of bricks 80, in which there is no significant gaps between the bricks 80. The bricks 80 may have been sourced in smooth form, or may have been cut by the cutting tool 60 of the working bench 50 in order to arrive at a standard brick size and a standard brick shape.

FIG. 10 is an example of a prepared brick assembly 82′, in which the bricks 80 are assembled with mortar 86. The brick assembly 82 that includes five rows 16 and eight columns 18 of bricks 80, in which there is a gap of about 1.5 mm is left between each brick 80 for grouting of the brick assembly 82 with motor 86. The example of FIG. 10 shows that adjacent columns 18 of bricks 80 may be offset, for example by about half a length of the bricks 80. This configuration may be used with and without grouting of the bricks 80 of the brick assemblies 82 or 82′. It may be observed from consideration of FIG. 10 that the template of the shaper 56 used to define the brick assemblies 82 may not be rectangular in shape.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a workshop version of the vacuum brick lifter 10′ and of a workshop floor 88 partially covered with brick assemblies 82. FIG. 12 is another perspective view of the workshop version of the vacuum brick lifter 10′ and of the workshop floor 88 partially covered with brick assemblies. The vacuum brick lifter 10′ mainly differs from the vacuum brick lifter 10 introduced in the description of FIG. 1 in the manner in which it is supported using chains 24 and a beam 26 (also called a straightedge), and positioned using handlebars 28. The vacuum brick lifter 10′ is otherwise similar and operates in the same manner as the vacuum brick lifter 10. It has been used as a proof of concept for the present technology. As may be seen on FIGS. 11 and 12, the brick assemblies 82 have been disposed on a workshop floor 88 by the vacuum brick lifter 10′, with nearly perfect alignment, despite the fact that they are formed of bricks 80 that are not permanently joined with mortar or any other adhesive. On these Figures, some bricks 80a and 80b were actually moved manually after having been installed on the workshop floor 88 by the vacuum brick lifter 10′, in order to better illustrate the near perfect alignment of all other bricks 80.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative, top plan view of the floor of the electrolysis cell 100 with an overlaid tiling pattern. A tiling pattern 200 is formed by tracing guiding lines 210 on a plan of the floor 110, forming virtual tiles 220 that, in the illustrated example, are rectangular and have a length/and a width these dimensions corresponding to the length and the width of a brick assembly 82. It should be noted that the virtual tiles 220 may not be rectangular, as other shapes may be contemplated. For example and without limitation, other virtual tile shapes may match the shape of the brick assembly 82′ illustrated on FIG. 10.

In the example of FIG. 13, most of the virtual tiles 220 are rectangular. However, the floor 110 does not form a perfect rectangle. Consequently, virtual tiles 222 and 224 at one end of the floor 110 are not perfectly rectangular. Moreover, virtual tiles 226a, 226b, 226c and 226d, at an opposite end of the floor 110, although rectangular, have a length l′ that is somewhat less than the length of the brick assembly 82. Evidently, the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell may have many other departures from a perfect rectangular shape. Such departures of the shape of the floor 110 from a perfect rectangular shape may be present, for example, on any of its four sides. Additionally, the overall length of the floor 110 that, as shown on FIG. 13, may not be an integer multiple of the length of the brick assemblies 82. In fact, the overall length of the floor 110 may not even be an integer multiple of the length of an individual brick 80. Likewise, the overall width of the floor 110 may also differ from an integer multiple of the width of the brick assemblies 82 and may further differ from an integer multiple of the width of an individual brick 80. It may be noted that the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 may not be entirely flat. This may be corrected by the addition of mortar and/or alumina on the floor 110.

In many instances, it will not be possible to cover the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 with an integer number of perfectly shaped brick assemblies. Consequently, the sizes and shapes of several brick assemblies 82 may be adjusted in the working bench 50 in order to overcome the various departures between an ideal size and an ideal shape of a brick assembly, as defined by the template of the shaper 56, and a size and a shape of an actual brick assembly 82 corresponding, for example, to the virtual tiles 222, 224, 226a, 226b, 226c and 226d

A first brick layer may be disposed on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. In many instances, there will be a desired to lay at least one more brick layer on top of the first brick layer. Brick assemblies 82 of a second brick layer may be formed as expressed in the previous paragraphs, following the tiling pattern illustrated on FIG. 13. However, it may be desired to avoid positioning edges defined between adjacent bricks of one brick layer immediately above edges defined between adjacent bricks of a previous brick layer. To this end, FIG. 14 is an illustrative, top plan view of a portion of the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 with two overlaid tiling patterns. A tiling pattern 300 is formed by tracing guiding lines 310 on the plan of the floor 110 and over the first tiling pattern 200 introduced in the description of FIG. 13. The second tiling pattern 300 forms virtual tiles 320 that are shifted, in relation to the virtual tiles 220 of the first tiling pattern 200. In relation to the tiling pattern 200, the tiling pattern 300 is shifted in a first direction, for example along the length of the floor 110, and in a second direction, for example along the width of the floor 110. As mentioned hereinabove, the tiling pattern 200 will be used to form the first brick layer disposed on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. In an embodiment, the tiling pattern 300 is shifted in the first direction by less than a first dimension (e.g. the length) of the bricks forming the first brick layer and in the second direction by less than a second dimension (e.g. the width) of the bricks that forming the first brick layer. When the second brick layer is disposed on top of the first brick layer, there will be no significant overlap of edges defined between adjacent bricks of the second brick layer above edges defined between adjacent bricks of the first brick layer.

Non-limiting examples of methods for preparing and laying bricks on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 are depicted in FIGS. 15, 16 and 17. For example, FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing operations of a method for preparing a plurality of brick assemblies 82 for covering the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. On FIG. 15, a sequence 400 comprises a plurality of operations, some of which may be executed in variable order, some of the operations possibly being executed concurrently, some of the operations being optional.

The sequence 400 begins at operation 410, where a first tiling pattern 200 is overlaid on a plan of the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100, each virtual tile 220 of the first tiling pattern having a size and a shape of a template. The first tiling pattern 200 will be used to prepare brick assemblies 82 forming a first brick layer for installation of the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. If it is desired to install a second brick layer on top of the first brick layer, a next operation 420 comprises overlaying, over the plan of the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100, a second tiling pattern 300 for the second brick layer. In the second tiling pattern 300, each virtual tile 320 also has the size and the shape of the template. The second tiling pattern 300 is shifted in relation to the first tiling pattern 200 in a first direction by less than a first dimension of bricks 80 of the first brick layer and in a second direction by less than a second dimension 80 of the bricks of the first brick layer. The second tiling pattern 300 may for example be shifted by half a length of a standard brick along the longitudinal axis 42 of the electrolysis cell 100 and by half a width of the standard brick along a width of the electrolysis cell 100.

Operation 430 comprises identifying, for each virtual tile 220 of the first tiling pattern 200, zero or more departures of a portion of the floor 110 of electrolysis cell 100 overlaid by the virtual tile 220 of the first tiling pattern 200 from the size and the shape of the template. If it is planned to install a second brick layer, operation 430 is also performed for each virtual tile 320 of the second tiling pattern 300.

Then at operation 440, for each given virtual tile 220 of the first tiling pattern 200, and for each given virtual tile 320 of the second tiling pattern 300 if applicable, where the given virtual tile 220 or 320 has at least one departure from the size and the shape of the template, a size and a shape of a corresponding brick assembly 82 is adjusted so that the corresponding brick assembly 82 matches a size and a shape of a given portion of the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 110 overlaid by the given virtual tile 220 or 320. Referring for example to FIG. 13, the size and the shape of the virtual tiles 222, 224, 226a, 226b, 226c and 226d would be adjusted at operation 440.

In an embodiment, operation 440 may comprise a plurality of sub-operations, some of which may be executed in variable order, some of the sub-operations possibly being executed concurrently, some of the sub-operations being optional. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing sub-operations for adjusting the size and the shape of a brick assembly 82. Operation 440 may comprise sub-operation 442 in which one or more bricks 80 of a brick assembly 82 may be cut in order to adjust the size and/or the shape of the brick assembly 82. Sub-operation 442 may include sub-operation 444, in which each brick 80 of the brick assembly 82 may be adjusted according to a standard brick size and a standard brick shape. At sub-operation 446, the size and the shape of the brick assembly 82 may be adjusted by forming the brick assembly 82 by combining fewer bricks 80 than a predetermined number of bricks of the template. Operation 440 may be performed for all of the brick assemblies 82 of the first and second brick layers, particularly if it is desired to reshape each brick 80. Alternatively, operation 440 may be performed for a limited number of brick assemblies 82 that are planned to be installed in areas of the electrolysis cell 100 where significant departures from an ideal rectangular shape are present. In an embodiment of the working bench 50 comprising a robotized arm, the robotized arm may manipulate a brick 80 to bring any of its lateral faces in contact with the cutting tool 60 for adjusting its size and/or its shape, and then move the bring toward the shaper 56 to complete operation 440.

Once the brick assemblies 82 have been prepared, they may be installed on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. To this end, FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing operations of a method for covering the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. On FIG. 17, a sequence 500 comprises a plurality of operations, some of which may be executed in variable order, some of the operations possibly being executed concurrently, some of the operations being optional. One or more subsets of a plurality of brick assemblies 82 for installation in a first brick layer are placed in one or more piles at operation 510. Similarly, if a second brick layer is planned, one or more subsets of a plurality of brick assemblies 82 for installation in the second brick layer are placed in one or more piles at operation 520.

The first brick layer for covering the floor of the electrolysis cell is formed at operation 530. Operation 530 may comprise one or more of sub-operations 532 and 534. At sub-operation 532, the brick assemblies 82 of a given pile 84 of brick assemblies 82 of the first brick layer, placed on the receiving platform 130, are successively picked up from a top of the given pile 84. At sub-operation 534, each brick assembly 82 successively picked up at sub-operation 532 is placed on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100, in an adjacent position to a previously picked up brick assembly 82.

For example and without limitation, a first brick assembly 82 taken from the top of a first pile 84 may be placed in a first corner on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100. A number of brick assemblies 82 may then be adjacently placed from the first brick assembly 82, along a width of the electrolysis cell 100, thereby forming a first row of adjacent brick assemblies 80 extending across the width of the electrolysis cell 100. More brick assemblies 82 may then be placed adjacently to this first row, thereby forming a second row that is contiguous to the first row. Once the given pile 84 is empty, a next pile 84 may be placed on the receiving platform 130 and sub-operations 532 and 534 are repeated for installing the brick assemblies 82 of this next pile 84. The brick assemblies 82 for the first brick layer are successively picked up from the one or more piles, until the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 is covered by the plurality of brick assemblies 82 forming the first brick layer, when a last brick assembly 82 is picked up from the bottom of a last pile 84 and placed in a second corner of the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 110, at an opposite end from the first corner.

If applicable, the second brick layer for covering the first brick layer is formed at operation 540.

Operation 540 may comprise one or more of sub-operations 542 and 544. At sub-operation 542, the brick assemblies 82 of a given pile of brick assemblies 82 of the second brick layer are successively picked up from a top of the given pile. At sub-operation 544, each brick assembly 82 successively picked up at sub-operation 542 is placed on top of the first brick layer, in an adjacent position to a previously picked up brick assembly 82. The brick assemblies 82 for the second brick layer are successively picked up from the one or more piles until the first brick layer is covered by the plurality of brick assemblies 82 forming the second brick layer. Details of operation 540 and of its sub-operations 542 and 544 may be similar or equivalent to those of operation 530 and of its sub-operations 532 and 534.

Additional brick layer may be installed on the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100, until a desired depth of the brick layers is reached. For example and without limitation, it may be desired to cover the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 with 4 brick layers.

Each of the operations of the sequences 400 and 500 may be configured to be processed by one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to a memory. FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a controller 600 of a system for preparing brick assemblies 82 and for covering the floor 110 of the electrolysis cell 100 with the brick assemblies 82.

The controller 600 comprises a processor or a plurality of cooperating processors (represented as a single processor 610 for simplicity), a memory device or a plurality of memory devices (represented as a single memory device 620 for simplicity), an input/output device or a plurality of input/output devices (represented as an input/output device 630 for simplicity). Separate input and output devices may be present instead of the input/output device 630. The input/output device 630 may be adapted communicate with the working bench 50 and its components, the vacuum brick lifter 10 working bench 50, the motorized structure 30 working bench 50, and the remote controller 142, for providing control instructions to these devices and for receiving feedback signals from these devices. The memory device 620 may comprise a database 624 for storing data which may include, for example, tiling patterns 200 and 300, calculated sizes and shapes of each of the brick assemblies 82 and a mapping of the position of each of the brick assemblies 82 in the first and/or second brick layer.

The processor 610 is operatively connected to the memory device 620 and to the input/output device 630. The memory device 620 may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium 622 for storing code instructions that are executable by the processor 600 to perform the operations of the sequences 400 and 500.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the description of the methods and of the system for preparing and installing brick assemblies on the floor of an electrolysis cell are illustrative only and are not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments will readily suggest themselves to such persons with ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the disclosed methods and system may be customized to offer valuable solutions to existing needs and problems related to the long installation time and to the amount of manpower required to lay bricks on the floor of an electrolysis cell. In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations of the methods and system are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation of the methods and system, numerous implementation-specific decisions may need to be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application-, system-, and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the field of aluminum smelting having the benefit of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure has been described in the foregoing specification by means of non-restrictive illustrative embodiments provided as examples. These illustrative embodiments may be modified at will. The scope of the claims should not be limited by the embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a plurality of brick assemblies for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell, comprising: overlaying a tiling pattern on a plan of the floor of the electrolysis cell, each virtual tile of the tiling pattern having a size and a shape of a template;identifying, for each virtual tile of the tiling pattern, zero or more departures of a portion of the floor of electrolysis cell overlaid by the virtual tile of the tiling pattern from the size and the shape of the template; andfor each given virtual tile of the tiling pattern having at least one departure from the size and the shape of the template, adjusting a size and a shape of a corresponding brick assembly so that the corresponding brick assembly matches a size and a shape of a given portion of the floor of the electrolysis cell overlaid by the given virtual tile of the tiling pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting the size and the shape of the corresponding brick assembly comprises cutting one or more bricks of the corresponding brick assembly.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein cutting one or more bricks of the corresponding brick assembly comprises adjusting a size and a shape of each brick of the corresponding brick assembly according to a standard brick size and a standard brick shape.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the template comprises a predetermined number of bricks; andadjusting the size and the shape of the corresponding brick assembly comprises forming the corresponding brick assembly by combining fewer bricks than the predetermined number of bricks.

5. A method for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell, comprising: preparing a plurality of brick assemblies using the method as defined in claim 1;placing one or more subsets of the plurality of brick assemblies in one or more piles;laying the brick assemblies of a given pile on the floor of the electrolysis cell by: successively picking up the brick assemblies of the given pile from a top of the given pile, andplacing each successively picked up brick assembly on the floor of the electrolysis cell in an adjacent position to a previously picked up brick assembly.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising successively picking up and placing on the floor of the electrolysis cell the brick assemblies of a second pile after having picked up and placed on the floor of the electrolysis cell the brick assemblies of a first pile.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of brick assemblies are placed on the floor of the electrolysis cell by: laying a first number of adjacent brick assemblies along a width of the electrolysis cell to form a first row of adjacent brick assemblies extending across the width of the electrolysis cell; andlaying a second number of adjacent bricks along the width of the electrolysis cell so to form a second row of adjacent bricks extending across the width of the electrolysis cell, the second row of adjacent bricks being contiguous to the first row of adjacent brick assemblies.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a first brick assembly picked up from the first pile is placed in a first corner of the floor of the electrolysis cell.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein a last brick assembly picked up from a bottom of a last pile is placed in a second corner of the floor of the electrolysis cell at an opposite end from the first corner.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein: the tiling pattern is a first tiling pattern for a first brick layer for covering the floor of the electrolysis cell;the brick assemblies are first brick assemblies of the first brick layer;the method further comprising:overlaying, on the plan of the floor of the electrolysis cell, a second tiling pattern for a second brick layer, each virtual tile of the second tiling pattern having the size and the shape of the template, the second tiling pattern being shifted in relation to the first tiling pattern in a first direction by less than a first dimension of bricks of the first brick layer and in a second direction by less than a second dimension of the bricks of the first brick layer;identifying, for each virtual tile of the second tiling pattern, zero or more departures of a portion of the floor of electrolysis cell overlaid by the virtual tile of the tiling pattern from the size and the shape of the template; andfor each given virtual tile of the second tiling pattern having at least one departure from the size and the shape of the template, adjusting a size and a shape of a corresponding second brick assembly so that the corresponding second brick assembly matches a size and a shape of a given portion of the floor of the electrolysis cell overlaid by the given virtual tile of the second tiling pattern.

11. A method for covering a floor of an electrolysis cell, comprising: preparing the brick assemblies of the first and second pluralities of brick assemblies using the method as defined in claim 10;placing one or more first subsets of the first plurality of brick assemblies in one or more first piles;placing one or more second subsets of the second plurality of brick assemblies in one or more second piles;forming the first brick layer for covering the floor of the electrolysis cell by: successively picking up the first brick assemblies of a given first pile from a top of the given first pile, andplacing each successively picked up first brick assembly on the floor of the electrolysis cell in an adjacent position to a previously picked up first brick assembly, wherein the first brick assemblies are successively picked up from the one or more first piles until the floor of the electrolysis cell is covered by the first plurality of brick assemblies; andforming a second brick layer for covering first brick layer by: successively picking up the second brick assemblies of a given second pile from a top of the given second pile, andplacing each successively picked up second brick assembly on top of the first brick layer in an adjacent position to a previously picked up second brick assembly, wherein the second brick assemblies are successively picked upon from the one or more second piles until the first brick layer is covered by the second plurality of brick assemblies.

12. A system, comprising: a working bench adapted to prepare brick assemblies;a vacuum brick lifter adapted to hold and release the prepared brick assemblies;a motorized structure adapted to move along sides of an electrolysis cell and to carry the vacuum brick lifter; anda controller comprising: an input/output device operatively connected to the working bench, to the vacuum brick lifter and to the motorized structure,a processor operatively connected to the input/output device, anda memory device comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon machine executable instructions for performing, when executed by the processor, the method as defined in claim 1.