Thermoelectric Property Dependence and Geometry Optimization of Peltier Current Leads Using Highly Electrically Conductive Thermoelectric Materials

Thermoelectric materials are promising candidates for use in energy-saving devices in many fields. They are also useful in superconducting applications such as those using Peltier current leads (PCLs) to reduce system heat loss. In the case of PCLs, consideration must be given to Joule heating. Furthermore, the performance of PCLs is intricately dependent on their thermoelectric properties. In addition to the figure of merit Z, consideration of the electrical conductivity is also important for the design of high-performance PCLs. In this paper, we discuss the resistivity dependence of the performance of PCLs using model parameters obtained from real devices.     

Thermoelectric Property Dependence on Performance of Peltier Current Leads Under Overcurrent Conditions

Superconductivity can potentially provide a solution to the world??s energy needs because superconducting transmission and distribution (T&D) systems can decrease losses and are also capable of integrating renewables into the power grid. At Chubu University we have built a 200-m-class superconducting direct-current T&D system (CASER-2). To minimize heat leakage from the current leads, we investigated thermoelectric materials. The Peltier current lead (PCL) is one of the key technologies that will enhance the performance of superconducting systems: as direct current (DC) flows through the current lead, thermoelectric elements on opposite terminations of the superconducting line can be used to decrease the heat ingress to the cryogenic environment (n-type on one end, p-type on the opposite end). The heat leakage to the cryogenic environment depends on the properties of the thermoelectric materials. In this paper, we estimate the performance of PCLs in cryogenic operations, including the potential for overcurrent operation, through both modeling and experiments at CASER-2.     

Development of a Peltier Current Lead for the 200-m-Class Superconducting Direct Current Transmission and Distribution System

Reducing cryogenic heat leaks is critical for superconducting applications. Reduction of heat leak at the terminals is essential for uses with short-length applications, where cryogenic losses at the terminals dominate. We are developing a 200-m-class superconducting direct current (DC) transmission and distribution system (CASER-2), and have used a Peltier current lead (PCL) for heat insulation at the terminals. The PCL consists of thermoelectric elements and copper leads, which enhance the performance of superconducting systems. As DC flows through the current lead, thermoelectric elements on opposite terminations of a superconducting line can be used to decrease the heat ingress to the cryogenic environment (n-type on one end, p-type on the opposite end). During the current feeding and cooling test, a large temperature difference was observed across thermoelectric elements in the PCL. This demonstrates that we have successfully insulated the heat leak at the current lead. During the fourth cooling test, we established a new PCL design with p-type elements at terminal B, and then compared the performance of the terminals. Several improvements were implemented, including balancing the resistances of the PCL to enhance the stability of the superconducting systems.     

Superconducting Magnets and Cooling System in BEPCII

A pair of dual-purpose superconducting quadrupole magnets and a superconducting detector solenoid were fabricated and installed in Beijing Electron-Positron Collider Upgrade (BEPCII). The magnets are symmetrically inserted into the BESIII detector with respect to the interaction point. They are identical, iron-free, non-collared, multi-layered and active shielded superconducting magnets for the micro-beta focusing at the interaction region of the collider rings. Each quadrupole magnet is composed of seven coils at different operating currents wound layer by layer on a common cylindrical support. The magnet has an overall effective length of 0.96 m and provides a good field aperture of 65 mm in diameter. They are cooled by supercritical helium in order to eliminate the flow instabilities in constrained cooling channels. The BESIII superconducting solenoid magnet was designed to provide an axial magnetic field of about 1.0 T over the tracking volume and to meet the requirement of particle momentum resolution to particle detectors. A single layer of coil, in-direct cooling by forced two-phase helium, high purity aluminum based stabilizer and NbTi/Cu superconductor is adopted for the solenoid. The solenoid is 3.4 m in diameter and 3.89 m in length. This paper presents the design of the superconducting magnets in the BEPCII as well as their cryomodules. The cooling system for the magnets is also discussed.     

16th International Conference on Magnet Technology (MT-16 1999)

The following topics were discussed: the superconducting magnets for the Large Hadron Collider; superconducting magnets for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider; undulators; the RIKEN cyclotron; HERA magnets; high field dipole magnets; detector magnets; the CMS detector; the ATLAS detector; high field solenoid magnets; fusion magnets; magnet electrodynamics; magnetic resonance; energy storage; superconducting power transformers; permanent magnets; magnetic levitation; low temperature superconductors; cable in conduit superconductors; high temperature superconductors; current leads and cryogenics     

Superconducting superferric dipole magnet with cold iron core for the VLHC

Magnetic system of the stage I Very Large Hadron Collider (VLHC) is based on 2 Tesla superconducting magnets with combined functions. These magnets have a room temperature iron yoke with two 20 mm air gaps. Magnetic field in both horizontally separated air gaps is generated by a single, 100 kA superconducting transmission line. An alternative design with a cold iron yoke, horizontally or vertically separated air gaps is under investigation. The cold iron option with horizontally separated air gaps reduces the amount of iron, which is one of the major cost drivers for the 233-km magnet system of future accelerator. The vertical beam separation decreases the superconductor volume, heat load from the synchrotron radiation and eliminates fringe field from the return bus. Nevertheless, the horizontal beam separation provides lowest volume of the iron yoke and, therefore, smaller heat load on the cryogenic system during cooling down. All these options are discussed and compared in the paper. Superconducting correction system combined with the magnet that allows increasing the maximum field is also discussed. Preliminary cost analysis is performed for all these options.     

Materials applications for magnetic fusion

Advanced fusion devices will require that materials in various applications perform adequately under combinations of thermal and mechanical loads, electric and magnetic fields and neutron radiation. This article illustrates several aspects of materials technology for fusion by focusing on three major components-first wall structures, blankets, and large superconducting magnets. In describing the first wall, with armor and limiters, the central theme is potential effects from the severe operating environment which includes intense surface heat and bombardment by energetic atoms and high-energy neutrons. In the respective sections on blanket materials and on superconducting magnets, compatibility among materials and fabrication requirements are emphasized. While the mechanical, electrical or neutronic properties of materials can fulfill the primary performance requirements in specific materials applications, overall system requirements such as those for compatibility and appropriate fabrication techniques must also be satisfied in selecting and developing materials.     

Modeling of Quench Limit for Steady State Heat Deposits in LHC Magnets

A quench, the transition of a conductor from the superconducting to the normal conducting state, occurs irreversibly in the accelerator magnets if one of the three parameters: temperature, magnetic field or current density exceeds a critical value. Energy deposited in the superconductor by the particle beams provokes quenches detrimental for the accelerator operation. In particular if particles impacting on the vacuum chamber and their secondary showers depose energy in the magnet coils. The large hadron collider (LHC) nominal beam intensity is 3.2 ldr 10¹⁴ protons. A quench occurs if a fraction of the order of 10⁷ protons per second is lost locally. A network model is used to simulate the thermodynamic behavior of the magnets. The heat flow in the network model was validated with measurements performed in the CERN magnet test facility. A steady state heat flow was introduced in the coil by using the quench heaters implemented in the LHC magnets. The value of the heat source current is determined by the network model and the magnet coil current which is required to quench the coil is predicted accordantly. The measured and predicted value comparison is regarded as a sensitive test of the method.     

Optimization of termination for a high-temperature superconductingcable with a room temperature dielectric design

This paper describes the design considerations of a termination for a superconducting cable, based on tapes produced with the powder-in-tube method, with a room temperature dielectric design. Most important is the optimization of the current lead that leads the current from room temperature to cryogenic temperature. The current lead is optimized, using analytical as well as numerical methods. The paper proposes a current lead made of copper, with a constant cross-section area. With an optimized length-to-cross-section area ratio, the heat flow to the cold region is 43 W/kA for an uncooled current lead and 20 W/kA for a cooled current lead. The minimum loss in the entire termination is approximately 60 W/kA for a termination optimized for 2 kA. The paper describes why a gas-cooled current lead only reduces the total losses when used in connection with a multistep cooling machine     

Analytic Estimates of Magnetic Energy in Superconducting Quadrupoles

In this paper, we propose analytical formulae to determine the magnetic energy stored in superconducting quadrupoles made of sector coils. The study is based on the Fourier transformation of the current density flowing within the coils. The case of real magnets (i.e., magnets which are not made of pure sector coils) is treated and a heuristic corrective coefficient allowing taking into account the energy enhancement due to current grading is derived from a numerical study. We also introduce the effect of an unsaturated iron yoke on the stored energy and we discuss the issue of the yoke saturation.      

Cold Mass Cooling Design Studies for an LHC Inner Triplet Upgrade

A luminosity upgrade of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is planned to coincide with the expected end of life of the existing inner triplet quadrupole magnets. The upgraded inner triplet will have much larger heat loads to be removed from the magnets by the cryogenics system. As part of the LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP), a design study has been completed to investigate the required characteristics of the cold mass cooling system within the framework of a design temperature profile. These characteristics are the beam pipe annulus, collar radial cooling channels, yoke radial cooling channels, yoke longitudinal cooling channels, and heat exchanger connecting pipe. Using these parameters in conjunction with energy deposition calculations, longitudinal and radial temperature profiles for an entire inner triplet are calculated and presented.     

High Field Superconducting Solenoids Via High Temperature Superconductors

High-field superconducting solenoids have proven themselves to be of great value to scientific research in a number of fields, including chemistry, physics and biology. Present-day magnets take advantage of the high-field properties of Nb₃Sn, but the high-field limits of this conductor are nearly reached and so a new conductor and magnet technology is necessary for superconducting magnets beyond 25 T. Twenty years after the initial discovery of superconductivity at high temperatures in complex oxides, a number of high temperature superconductor (HTS) based conductors are available in sufficient lengths to develop high-field superconducting magnets. In this paper, present day HTS conductor and magnet technologies are discussed. HTS conductors have demonstrated the ability to carry very large critical current densities at magnetic fields of 45 T, and two insert coil demonstrations have surpassed the 25 T barrier. There are, however, many challenges to the implementation of HTS conductors in high-field magnets, including coil manufacturing, electromechanical behavior and quench protection. These issues are discussed and a view to the future is provided.     

Coupling Current and AC Loss in LHC Superconducting Quadrupoles

One of the issues for the operation of the LHC accelerator at CERN are the field errors generated by coupling currents in the superconducting cables of the main dipoles and quadrupoles, especially during the initial phase of the energy ramp from injection conditions. Coupling current effects have already been measured in the superconducting dipoles, and results are reported elsewhere. This paper reports similar measurements that we have recently performed on different types of LHC superconducting quadrupoles (arc quadrupole, dispersion suppressor and matching section quadrupoles) to quantify the above effects and compare them to the values specified from the beam tolerances. Loss and field errors due to ramping are mainly determined by the contact resistance between the strands of the magnets cables. In this paper the is calculated for several quadrupoles measured using both the measured energy loss and the magnetic field errors during ramping of magnets.     

Superconducting coil development and motor demonstration: Overview

Superconducting bismuth-cuprate wires, coils, and magnets are being produced by industry as part of a program to test the viability of using such magnets in Naval systems. Tests of prototype magnets, coils, and wires reveal progress in commercially produced products. The larger magnets will be installed in an existing superconducting homopolar motor and operated initially at 4.2K to test the performance. It is anticipated that approximately 400 Hp will be achieved by the motor. This article reports on the initial tests of the magnets, coils, and wires as well as the development program to improve their performance.     

Minimum Stored Energy High-Field MRI Superconducting Magnets

A globally optimum minimum stored energy optimization strategy is implemented to design actively shielded superconducting magnet configurations used in high-field applications. The current density map is first obtained and used as a foundation for the magnet configurations by placing coils at current density local extremities. Optimized current density maps based on the stored energy formulation along with final magnet arrangements are provided to illustrate the findings. In this work, the focus was on compact superconducting magnets as measured by physical size and system footprint for given magnetic field properties inside the imaging region. The process of obtaining the current density maps proposed here over the given magnet domain, where superconducting coils are laid out, suggests that peak current densities occur around the perimeter of the domain, where in the most compact designs, with the domain length less than 1 m, the current direction alternates amongst adjacent coils. To reduce the peak magnetic field to acceptable levels on the superconductors in high-field designs, the size of the magnet domain is made larger, to the extent that the current densities no longer alternate between coils.      

Current injection for field decay compensation in NMR spectrometer magnets

Current injection is a method to compensate for field drift in persistent nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer magnets by the direct introduction of incremental current into the magnet through leads attached across a portion of the windings. An applied current ramp will distribute among the sections of the windings defined by the placement of the leads according to the inductance of the circuit. As a result, a current ramp trough leads placed across an inner coil will flow primarily in that coil. The field created by the injection current may be used to cancel a quasi-persistent field decay. The injection current required for the field decay compensation is determined as a function of magnet parameters and decay rate. The drift in field uniformity that results with current injection is found to be proportional to the field decay that is compensated, the drift and the decay being related by a quantity termed the dynamic uniformity; The field uniformity drift is quantified for an example magnet design; showing that the drift in field uniformity can be significant in the context of high resolution spectroscopy. Methods that facilitate shimming, such as gradient shimming, are identified as a natural compliment to current injection.     

Effect of the joule heating on the quantum efficiency and choice of thermal conditions for high-power blue InGaN/GaN LEDs

The heat model of a light-emitting diode (LED) with an InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) in the active region is considered. Effects of the temperature and drive current, as well as of the size and material of the heat sink on the light output and efficiency of blue LEDs are studied. It is shown that, for optimal heat removal, decreasing of the LED efficiency as current increases to 100 mA is related to the effect of electric field on the efficiency of carrier injection into the QW. As current further increases up to 400 mA, the decrease in efficiency is caused by Joule heating. It is shown that the working current of LEDs can be increased by a factor of 5–7 under optimal heat removal conditions. Recommendations are given on the cooling of LEDs in a manner dependent on their power.     

Post-LHC accelerator magnets

The design and practicality of future accelerators, such as hadron colliders and neutrino factories being considered to supercede the LHC, will depend greatly on the choice of superconducting magnets. Various possibilities will be reviewed and discussed, taking into account recent progress and projected improvements in magnet design and conductor development along with the recommendations from the 2001 Snowmass workshop.     

根部开孔对直翅片散热强化的实验研究

根据温度恒定时输入热量与输出热量相等的原理,提出了一种简单方便的测量热沉散热功率的方法,并搭建了实验台。通过测量输入电热丝中的电压、电流以及通电时间即可得到热沉的散热功率,并通过数理分析确定实验测量周期,以保证实验结果误差在5%以内。实验表明在热沉翅片根部开孔可以有效提高热沉散热功率,对测试所用热沉而言最高可提高16.3%。但随着开孔数量的增多,热沉的散热功率先上升达到一个极值后再下降。究其原因在于开孔增多的同时,减少了热沉内部热量自热沉底部向热沉顶部传递的面积,增加了热沉内部的传热阻力。