Abstract: The thermal stresses relaxation of Ni/NiFe2O4 system functionally graded cermet inert anode for aluminum electrolysis was optimally designed. The transient thermal stresses of the inert anode under complex boundary condition during high-temp (955℃) electrolysis were calculated using the finite-element software ANSYS, the influence of different parameters on the distribution of the thermal stresses were analyzed. The results showed that, during the process of thermal shock, the thermal hoop tensile stress on the surface of the anode is very large, which is possibly the major cause of anode crack; when the radius of the anode is between 0.05-0.15m, a range that can be realized by recent manufacturing technology, the optimum composition distribution exponent p is 0.25; The hoop tensile stresses reduce with the decrease of anode scale and also decrease with the decrease of the convection coefficient between the electrolyte and the anode.

Key words: functionally graded material (FGM), transient thermal stresses, ANSYS