Development of 500 m HTS power cable in super-ACE project

A high temperature superconducting power cable (HTS power cable) is highly promises as a low cost and large capacity power line. An HTS cable is also effective in increasing power capacity of underground cable in a city part. A demonstration of a 500 m HTS cable that contributes to research for commercial applications was planned in a part of “Super-ACE project” of METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). Furukawa Electric has been taking charge of designing, manufacturing and installation of the 500 m cable. The cable is a 77 kV 1 kA single-core cable with liquid nitrogen (LN₂) impregnated paper insulation. The manufacturing and the installation of the cable have been completed in November 2003, and now preparations of peripheral equipments are proceeding for a test starting in March 2004. This paper describes the design, manufacturing and installation of the 500 m HTS cable.     

Development of a single-phase 30 m HTS power cable

HTS power transmission cables appear to be the replacement and retrofitting of underground cables in urban areas and HTS power transmission cable offers a number of technical and economic merits compared to the normal conductor cable system. A 30 m long, single-phase 22.9 kV class HTS power transmission cable system has been developed by Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), LS Cable Ltd., and Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), which is one of the 21st century frontier project in Korea since 2001. The HTS power cable has been developed, cooled down and tested to obtain realistic thermal and electrical data on HTS power cable system. The evaluation results clarified such good performance of HTS cable that DC critical current of the HTS cable was 3.6 kA and AC loss was 0.98 W/m at 1260 Arms and shield current was 1000 Arms. These results proved the basic properties for 22.9 kV HTS power cable. As a next step, we have been developing a 30 m, three-phase 22.9 kV, 50 MV A HTS power cable system and long term evaluation is in progress now.     

Investigation into the use of solid nitrogen to create a “Thermal Battery” for cooling a portable high-temperature superconducting magnet

The design of a portable, “stand-alone” cooling system, for use with a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet, is discussed. The HTS magnet is used to propel a magnetohydrodynamically powered model boat (approximately 120 cm × 60 cm). The aim of this investigation was to establish the suitability of solid nitrogen for use in the stand-alone cooling system, and determine the optimum method for exploiting its cooling power. It was found that obtaining good thermal contact between solid nitrogen and its container is very difficult if the nitrogen is frozen under vacuum, due to the formation of a thermal barrier between the nitrogen and its container. This problem is overcome if the nitrogen is frozen via conduction cooling from cold helium gas (at ∼4.2 K); and the design for a near isothermal “thermal battery” based on this principle is presented. This thermal battery has been constructed and integrated into the HTS magnet system onboard the model boat, and the results from the first trials of this system are presented here.     

Reduction of alternating current loss in a high-TC superconducting transmission cable by means of helical pitch adjustment

We have reported that the alternating current (ac) losses in a 66 kV_rms 3-core high-T_C superconducting (HTS) transmission cable fabricated by Tokyo Electric Power Company and Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. are calculated correctly by using an electric-circuit model. According to the calculated results, the circumferential field losses are dominant in the total ac losses in compared with the self-field losses and the axial-field losses. The helical pitches of each layer in the HTS cable are designed to obtain almost same layer currents, which gives the minimum self-field losses. We think that the optimum helical pitches giving the minimum total losses are different from the helical pitches designed by the companies and calculate the optimum values in the condition of the same helical direction of each layer in the cable. As a result, for example, it is found that the ac loss of 2.1 W m⁻¹ cc⁻¹ at transporting 1 kA_rms can be reduced to 1.8 W m⁻¹ cc⁻¹ (about 14% reductions) after redesigning the cable with the optimum helical pitches. The optimum helical pitches are obtained for each given transport current. After redesigning, the distribution of layer currents is not uniform and the circumferential fields are reduced.     

Numerical study on self-field losses of 30 m BSCCO HTS transmission cable

The self-field losses of the one phase of high-T_C superconducting (HTS) transmission cable are calculated by the electric circuit (EC) model. The one phase of HTS cable is constructed by the former of fine-strands copper rod, HTS conductor with four superconducting layers, the insulation made by polypropylene laminated paper, and HTS shielding with two superconducting layers, which was fabricated by Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI). The length of the cable is 30 m. Each HTS layer comprises BSCCO tapes. The current-dependent resistance of HTS layers in EC model is estimated on the base of Norris expressions for ellipse. The calculated losses are compared with the experimental results measured by 4-terminal method by SEI. The calculation of alternating current (AC) losses, a summation of the self-field losses in HTS layers and the eddy-current losses in the former, is almost equal to the measurement at wide transport-current range below the lowest value of the layer critical current. This result indicates that the numerical calculation by EC model is quite reliable. The minimum AC loss is also calculated by obtaining the optimum helical-pitch lengths of HTS layers at transporting 1 kA_rms. The minimum loss is 36% lower than the loss of HTS cable designed by SEI at the transport current value. In HTS cable with the optimum helical-pitch lengths, the calculation of the layer currents are not uniform in HTS conductor but are almost uniform in HTS shielding, which is contradict to SEI’s one. It is considered that the numerical calculation by EC model is useful to obtain the optimum helical-pitch lengths in HTS cable with the minimum AC loss.     

Cryogenic system with the sub-cooled liquid nitrogen for cooling HTS power cable

A 10 m long, three-phase AC high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power cable had been fabricated and tested in China August 2003. The sub-cooled liquid nitrogen (LN₂) was used to cool the HTS cable. The sub-cooled LN₂ circulation was built by means of a centrifugal pump through a heat exchanger in the sub-cooler, the three-phase HTS cable cryostats and a LN₂ gas-liquid separator. The LN₂ was cooled down to 65 K by means of decompressing, and the maximum cooling capacity was about 3.3 kW and the amount of consumed LN₂ was about 72 L/h at 1500 A. Cryogenic system design, test and some experimental results would be presented in this paper.     

LN2 circulation in cryopipes of superconducting power transmission line

We propose and consider the application of superconducting power transmission lines (SC PTs) using high temperature superconductors (HTSs) for further reduction of the electricity losses. To keep HTS cable at low temperature it is usual to use liquid nitrogen (LN₂). Straight and bellows pipes used in SC PT have different hydraulic friction factors due to differences in the shape of the wall surfaces. Moreover, the decentering of the HTS cable, which is unfixed at the center of the pipeline, also influences the LN₂ flow. In the case of long SC PTs, high power must be expended to overcome hydraulic friction. There are two methods to evaluate pressure losses. One is based on empirical formulae and another is based on the algorithms of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Empirical formulae can estimate pressure losses for long pipes, but the decentering of the cable is not considered. CFD computations describe flow behavior taking into account cable position inside the pipeline, though there is a limit to computable length due to the dependence on the number of mesh points and computation capacity. In this paper, circulation losses and pump power are estimated in straight and bellows pipes forming circulation channels by both methods. For a 40 mm diameter cable in an 80 mm diameter pipe, with the bellows pipe segments covering 2% of the length, and a heat loss of 1 W/m, the required flow rate and pump power for a circulation of 10 km are approximately 19 L/min and 10 W, respectively.     

Numerical optimization of conduction cooled current leads for low current applications

The basic design principles of current leads for superconducting magnets are well established but HTS materials and conduction cooled systems call for new numerical methods. In this paper the design of current leads was formulated as an optimization problem. Both time integration and finite differencing were examined as possible ways to compute the temperature distribution inside the leads. Three examples about optimization of conduction cooled as well as gas cooled systems are presented. First, the design of tubular normal conducting gas cooled current leads was studied. Second, normal conducting leads cooled with a two-stage cryocooler were examined. Third, the optimization was applied to current leads consisting of HTS tapes at the low temperature end of a normal conducting bar. The study took into account the magnetic field and temperature dependent voltage-current characteristics of the anisotropic Bi-2223 material. The results are compared with traditional analytical ones and the numerical optimization is shown to be an efficient design tool for both normal conducting and HTS current leads.     

Quench detection system for twin coils HTS SMES

The quench detection and protection system is a critical element in superconducting magnets. After a short summary of the quench detection and protection issues in HTS magnets, an original detection system is presented. The main feature of this system is an active protection of the detection electronics during the discharges, making it possible to use standard electronics even if the discharge voltage is very high. The design of the detection system is therefore easier and it can be made very sensitive. An implementation example is presented for a twin coil HTS SMES prototype, showing the improvements when compared to classical detection systems during operation.     

Design of high-efficiency Joule-Thomson cycles for high-temperature superconductor power cable cooling

Liquid nitrogen (LN₂) is commonly used as the coolant of a high temperature superconductor (HTS) power cable. The LN₂ is continuously cooled by a subcooler to maintain an appropriate operating temperature of the cable. This paper proposes two Joule-Thomson (JT) refrigeration cycles for subcooling the LN₂ coolant by using nitrogen itself as the working fluid. Additionally, an innovative HTS cooling cycle, of which the cable coolant and the refrigerant are unified and supplied from the same source, is suggested and analyzed in detail. Among these cycles, the highest COP is obtained in the JT cycle with a vacuum pump (Cycle A) which is 0.115 at 78 K, and the Carnot efficiency is 32.8%. The integrated HTS cooling cycle (Cycle C) can reach the maximum COP of 0.087, and the Carnot efficiency of 24.8%. Although Cycle C has a relatively low cycle efficiency when compared to that of the separated refrigeration cycle, it can be a good alternative in engineering applications, because the assembled hardware has few machinery components in a more compact configuration than the other cycles.     

Reduction of fault current peak in an inductive high-Tc superconducting fault current limiter

This paper dealt with current-limiting performances of an inductive high-T_c superconducting fault current limiter with an auxiliary coil. The fault current limiter mainly consists of the primary copper coil, secondary high-T_c superconducting rings, and auxiliary high-T_c superconducting coils, which are magnetically coupled through three-legged core. The superconducting fault current limiter as a series element in the power system is inserted to limit the fault current. The device presents fast variable-impedance features in the event of a fault condition. The fault current peak can become relatively large for certain ranges of the flux and the fault instant due to the core saturation. The auxiliary coil proposed in this paper was proven to increase the impedance of the SFCL up to more than 31% while preventing the core saturation.     

Current controlled high Tc superconducting switch

When a current is applied above the critical current l_c of a superconductor, the material is in its normal state and has a finite resistance. Below l_c the material becomes a superconductor with zero resistance. Switching between these two states can be achieved by modulating a current through the sample. Various high T_c superconducting (HTS) line structures have been made. In the normal state these structures are ordinary resistors with resistances ranging from 10 μ to 100 kμ. The critical currents are in the range 10 μA–100 mA. Switching behaviour has been observed in a simple divider circuit using the HTS lines at 77 K. Applications of the current controlled HTS switch to digital and logic circuits are discussed.     

High-temperature superconducting microwave devices: Fundamental issues in materials, physics, and engineering

High-T _c superconductivity has generated a great deal of interest because of the challenges it presents in the fields of material science, condensed matter physics, and electrical engineering, and because of the potential applications which may result from these research efforts. Thin-film passive microwave components may become the first high-temperature superconducting (HTS) devices available for widespread use and commercialization. In this article, we review aspects of material science, physics, and engineering which directly impact high-T _c superconducting microwave devices and discuss issues which determine the performance of these devices. Methods of growing HTS thin films on large-area substrates, techniques for fabricating single-level HTS passive microwave components, and the relevant properties of high-T _c superconducting films are discussed, with a focus on thin films of the HTS material YBa₂Cu₃O_7–. Several known mechanisms for microwave loss in both the superconductor and the dielectric substrate are presented. An overview of the general classes of superconducting passive microwave devices is given, and representative microwave devices which have been recently demonstrated are described in detail. Examples of a select few HTS active microwave components are also presented. Potential microwave applications are illustrated with comparisons to current technology.     

Temperature distribution in SFCLs based on Au/YBCO films during quenches

We investigated temperature distribution in SFCLs based on Au/YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO). SFCLs were fabricated by patterning Au/YBCO thin films grown on sapphire substrates into meander lines by photolithography. A gold film grown on the back side of the substrate was patterned into a meander line, and used as a thermometer. The front meander line was subjected to simulated AC fault currents, and the back line to DC current. Resistance of the front and back meander lines were measured and analyzed. The SFCLs were immersed in liquid nitrogen during the experiment for effective cooling. The temperature at the back side was close to that at the front side, and was closer at lower temperatures. This was observed at all stripes. The oscillatory component of the resistance of the back meander line is smaller than, and out-of-phase with that of the front meander line, which was more pronounced at higher temperatures. These results were analyzed quantitatively with the concept of heat transfer within the SFCL and to surroundings. Solutions for a heat equation explained the temperature distribution in SFCLs quantitatively: data coincided well with the solutions. In addition, quench development near the quench start point could be understood better than before, using the results.     

Design of high efficiency mixed refrigerant Joule–Thomson refrigerator for cooling HTS cable

The substitution of high temperature superconducting (HTS) cables for existing subterranean electric transmission lines is arising as a solution to continuously increasing electricity demand in urban areas. A cryogenic refrigeration system having the characteristics of high reliability, high efficiency, large cooling capacity, and low capital cost is essential to enable such a substitution. These requirements can be satisfied with a mixed refrigerant Joule–Thomson (MR JT) refrigerator. Unfortunately, usual MR JT refrigerators exhibit good performance at refrigeration temperatures above 80 K. A precooled neon–nitrogen MR JT refrigerator is proposed in this paper that can cool HTS cables at 70 K. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the proposed MR JT refrigerator is predicted to be 0.058 at 70 K (19.2% for exergy efficiency) with the optimized design variables. The COP can be improved further to 0.064 by enhancing the efficiency of the precooling cycle. The maximum achievable COP demonstrates the feasibility of MR JT refrigerator for cooling HTS cable.     

Long distance renewable-energy-sources power transmission using hydrogen-cooled MgB2 superconducting line

Renewable Energy Sources (RES) exploitation for electric energy and hydrogen production has been identified as one of the leading ways towards a future sustainable energy system. Hydrogen can be stored and transported in gaseous (GH₂) or liquid form (LH₂). When large hydrogen storage is required, liquefaction can be convenient with respect to compression, because of its higher storage density. LH₂ can also be used as a coolant for superconducting lines, acting at the same time as energy vector and cryogen. In particular, in this paper we focus on the MgB₂ material mainly due to economic considerations and working temperature match with LH₂. A system for large scale RES exploitation allowing flexible and controlled delivery of electric energy and LH₂ is presented. For the thermo-hydraulic design, a method is proposed which resorts to compressible fluid equations put in a convenient simplified form. A case application with 20 km distance between cooling stations is considered, and the need of taking into account LH₂ compressibility for pipeline design is shown.     

High-capacity superconducting current leads of Y1Ba2Cu3O7?x

We have fabricated and measured a high-capacity superconducting current lead composed of a Y₁Ba₂Cu₃O_7–x cylinder, 20 cm long and 0.9 cm² cross section. A steady-state, d.c., critical current of 225 A at a temperature of 77 K was measured in this sample, using a voltage criterion of 2×10^–7 V/cm (p = 8×10^–10 ohm-cm). This current was limited by the currentinduced, self magnetic field. To our knowledge this is the largest d.c. critical current so far reported in a Y₁Ba₂Cu₃O_7–x sample and demonstrates the possibility of using hightemperature superconducting HTS materials for current leads to low-temperature superconducting LTS magnets or in power distribution systems.     

JackPot: A novel model to study the influence of current non-uniformity and cabling patterns in cable-in-conduit conductors

JackPot is a new model that is used to analyse how and to what extend current non-uniformity among strands in a cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) affects its performance. The joints at the extremities of the CICCs in coils and short samples introduce a non-uniform current distribution among the strands. A detailed and quantitative study down to strand level is required to explain the involved phenomena, to understand their implications on short sample and coil tests and to provide adequate solutions for improvements. The model can be used to evaluate the influence of the joint design and to define its baseline requirements for short-sample qualification testing, and for optimum magnet performance of for example the ITER coils.JackPot is an electrical network model that simulates the interaction between the superconducting strands in the cable (following their precise trajectories), the interstrand contact resistances, the conduit, and the cable’s connection to the joints. The backbone of JackPot is its cable geometry model, from which all relevant properties are derived. All parameters are derived from well defined experimental measurements on conductor sections and joints, except the axial strain for Nb₃Sn strands, which is the only free parameter in the model.The simulations demonstrate that the current non-uniformity is the source for a number of observed phenomena. Another conclusion is that completely filling the bottom joints and upper terminations of a short sample with solder, opposed to only (partly) soldering the cable surface, improves short-sample testing significantly for qualifying the ITER type CICCs. This paper describes the model and gives a few examples of applications for its validation.     

Basic design and characteristics study of a double-axial superconducting magnetic bearing system

Under the background of upgrading energy crisis, a double-axial superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) system was designed and fabricated for a flywheel energy storage system (FESS) model to demonstrate high temperature superconducting (HTS) energy-saving technologies. In order to levitate and stabilize the shaft sufficiently, the static levitation force and lateral force between high temperature superconductor (HTSC) stator and permanent magnet (PM) rotors in two different sizes were checked. Based on the stable levitation, the dynamic characteristics of the SMB system were also investigated by the excitation experiments. The running experiments show that in the case of a driving motor the shaft can stably rotate along the central axis without any contact, while intensified vibration is also observed near two resonance rotational speeds. These results have been applied to construct and operate the FESS model using the SMB system.     

Recommended values for the thermal conductivity of aluminium of different purities in the cryogenic to room temperature range, and a comparison with copper

The thermal conductivity of pure aluminium at cryogenic temperatures varies by many orders of magnitude depending on purity and treatment, and there is little information in the literature on the likely values to be obtained for samples of a given purity. A compilation of measurements from the literature has been assembled and used to provide recommended ranges of values for aluminium of different purities (4N, 5N and 6N) in the normal (non superconducting) state. The number of direct thermal conductivity measurements is too limited to be used alone. Electrical resistivity measurements have thus also been used by converting to thermal conductivity using the Wiedemann-Franz law, which is shown to be valid. Since low temperature measurements can easily be extrapolated to higher temperatures, the results cover the range from 1.2 K (the superconducting transition temperature) to room temperature. Values for 5N purity copper have also been examined in a similar manner, to allow a comparison between the two materials. The main application of these results is in the design of cryogenic thermal links; a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of both materials for this use is given. The use of silver is also investigated briefly. Trends in the behaviour of the conductivity of aluminium in the superconducting state (to temperatures as low as 50 mK) are also discussed.