Development of Nb-Ti cable with ultrafine filament and high-resistivity matrix for ac use

Superconducting ac machines such as transformers and reactors are expected to have an important role in future electric power transport lines. In these machines, superconducting coils are wound with superconducting cables that have low ac loss, stable ac quenching current, and high normal resistivity. We have developed Nb-Ti superconducting cables with ultrafine filaments and high-resistivity matrix for these coils. One such cable is a double-stranded round structure using 0.2-mm strands with 0.14-μm filaments and Cu-30wt%Ni as a matrix material. The 50-Hz quenching current without external magnetic field exceeds 1400 Arms. The ac loss is 15 kW/m³ at a transverse external magnetic field of 0.5 T, 50 Hz, and the normal resistivity is 0.21 Ω/m at 0 T, 10 K. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 120(2): 8–18, 1997     

Development of NbTi superconducting strands and cables for the field winding of a 200‐MW‐class high‐energy‐density superconducting generator

The NbTi superconducting strands and cables for the field winding of the 200‐MW‐class high‐energy‐density‐type superconducting generator are developed. They are composed of Cu/Cu‐10wt%Ni/Nb‐46.5wt%Ti superconducting strands and the 10‐kA (at 5 T)‐class 9‐strand compacted cables. The diameter of strands is 1.33 mm, and the 9‐strand compacted cables are 2.4 mm thick and 6.0 mm wide. In order to produce high‐current‐density NbTi strands, we made strands under controlled aging heat treatments, the total and final strains, and the strains between heat treatments, by using large‐scale extruder. Moreover, in order to produce high‐stability and low‐AC‐loss NbTi strands and cables, the matrix ratio of strands and the cross sections of strands are optimized. The current density of NbTi filaments for the four‐time‐aging manufactured 1.33‐mm‐diameter strands was J_C=3150 A/mm² at 5 T, 1150 A/mm² at 8 T. The critical current of the 9‐strand compacted cable is 10.7 kA at 5 T. The AC losses of the final compacted cables are less than 100 kW/m³ at 5 T, 5 T/s, that is, decreased to less than half of the target of the AC loss value (< at 5 T, 5 T/s). Compared with the strand (Cu ratio 1.77), the minimum quench energy (MQE) of the strand (Cu ratio>2) increased about 40% at the operation mode current of the superconducting generator. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 156(3): 24– 31, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20266     

Stabilization for thermomagnetic instability of CuNi/NbTi superconducting wire in spatially distributed magnetic field

Thermomagnetic instability in superconducting wires composing multistrand cables is a problem in the development of cables with large current capacity. This paper elucidates the quenching properties of ac superconducting wires in a distributed magnetic field applied to the strands in the cable, and the stabilization of the ac superconducting wires considering the effect of the longitudinal magnetic field or the fraction of copper embedded in each strand. First, the degradation of the quench current of CuNi/NbTi superconducting wires in a distributed magnetic field is exhibited with simple test samples. Second, the quench properties of the strand in a (6 + 1)³ cable and the optimal twist pitch of the cable for high stabilization are discussed. Last, the effect of copper on the quench properties of the strand and the appropriate fraction of copper for suppression of quench current degradation in a distributed magnetic field are discussed. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 135(4): 26–34, 2001     

35 kJ/7 kW直接冷却高温超导磁储能系统

介绍了直接冷却高温超导磁储能（SMES）系统（35kJ／7kW）的总体结构和基本试验结果。该系统主要由超导磁体、低温系统、功率调节系统和监控系统组成。实验结果表明，通过直接冷却将储能磁体成功冷却到了20K以下；储能磁体的直流临界电流达到150A，临界储能量84kJ，磁体中心场强4．5T；监控系统和变流器能控制SMES与系统快速独立地在四象限进行有功功率和无功功率交换；在电力系统动态模拟实验中，SMES能有效抑制电力系统中因发电机机端短路故障引起的功率振荡。     

Current distribution in superconducting multistrands for ac use before and after quenching

A superconducting multistranded cable is used to realize high current capacity for ac use. The critical current value of the cable is reported to be less than the simple summation of the individual critical current value of each strand. The causes for such a degradation of the critical current value have not been revealed. This paper investigates the current distribution in multistrands before and after their quenching by using seven-strand superconducting cable and 7x7 cable. The following experimental results are derived: (1) the quenching is initiated at one strand in the cable; (2) the current in the quenched strand is transferred into the other strands; (3) an avalanche of quenching is induced among the strands; and (4) the central strand is quenched finally among the strands. The critical current values of the 7- and 7 × 7-stranded cables also are measured. These values are in good agreement with the predicted values based on the mutual inductance among the strands. It is concluded that the unbalance of the current distribution in the superconducting multistrands can be one of the promising causes for the degradation of the critical current value.     

A Superconducting Magnet with Center Field of 10 T and φ100 mm Warm Bore

A conduction-cooled superconducting magnet with central field of 10T and warm bore of 100 mm was designed based on a Nb3Sn and two NbTi superconducting coils. At the first stage, the NbTi coils have been fabricated and tested. A two-stage 4 K Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocooler with the second-stage power in 1W, 4.2K is used to cool the magnet from room temperature to 4 K. The superconducting magnet with the same power supply has the operating current of 116A. The magnet can be rotated with a support frame to be operated with either horizontal or vertical position. A pair of Bi-2223 high temperature superconducting current leads was employed to reduce heat leakage into 4.2K level. The NbTi coils reachto the operating current of 120A without training effect to be observed during charging of the magnet during 40 minutes charging time and generate the center field of 6.5T. The training effect in the NbTi magnet directly cool-down by cryocooler and inter-winding support structure in magnet can be remarkably improved. The superconducting magnet has been stably operated for more than 275 hours with 6.5T. In this paper, the detailed design, fabrication, stress analysis and quench protection characteristics are presented.     

Performance and conceptual design of superconducting magnet for disk MHD generator

This paper describes superconducting magnets coupled with two kinds of disk-type MHD generators. One is coupled with a disk generator in the closed-cycle MHD experimental facility FUJI-1. The other is for a full-scale disk MHD generator. These are split-pair magnets. In the magnet for the FUJI-1 facility, a unique structure which supports the coils against the electromagnetic force has been fabricated and the magnet has been operating stably. During MHD power generation experiments, an induced voltage across the terminals of the coil was measured. A magnitude of the Faraday current in the generator was calculated from this induced voltage. A possible construction of magnetics for a full-scale disk MHD generator is indicated. It is suggested that a high performance of the generator (output power density of 0.3-1 GW/m³) can be obtained with high magnetic field up to 10 T.     

A Superconducting Magnet with Center Field of 10 T and φ100 mm Warm Bore

ⅠIntroductionIt is expected that the middle and small-scale mag-nets immersed in liquid helium will be replaced by theeasy-operating conduction cooled superconducting magnetin near future[1~3].For the aimof superconducting mag-net applications in the advanced material processing,awide bore conduction-cooled superconducting magnet withavailable warmbore of100 mmand center field of 10 Twas designed.The NbTi superconducting coils have beenfabricated and tested.The systemis automated by using…     

Development and characteristics of superconductor for 70-MW class high-response excitation superconducting generator

The superconducting field winding of the 70-MW classhigh-response excitation superconducting generator requires a maximum operation current of 4.5 kA at the field of 6 T and needs to allow the field change of 10 T/s. In addition, superconductors have to meet the requirements of saddle-shape winding in the rotor slot and require the mechanical strength withstanding the centrifugal force as well as electromagnetic force. The developed conductor has the configuration of double stranded cable, consisting of NbTi, Cu and CuNi. An optimization was made, taking into account the requirement of low ac loss and high current density. The critical current of 13.6 kA was achieved at the field of 6 T and the ac loss was 6.9 kW/m³. The developed low-loss high-current density superconductor will be able to be applied to the field winding of the 70-MW class high-response excitation superconducting generator.     

Development of kA-class alternating current superconducting conductors and fabrication of a prototype coreless superconducting autotransformer

Recently, multifilamentary superconducting wires with very low ac losses have been produced and practical applications will now be considered. To realize actualsize power machines and apparatuses, it is necessary to develop 1 - 10 kA ac conductors. However, the critical currents of multifilamentary wires at 1 T are several tens of A, and therefore it is necessary to use multistrand conductors consisting of several tens or several hundreds of strands. Such conductors sometimes show ac current degradation because of such factors as (1) nonuniform current distribution, (2) wire motion, (3) temperature increase, (4) longitudinal magnetic field effect, etc. Formerly, a coreless transformer was considered unpractical because of its large exciting current. However, Yamamoto and others proposed that a coreless superconducting transformer could be used as a stepdown autotransformer at the receiving side, utilizing its large exciting current as the reactive power source to cancel the charging current of an underground transmission line or UHV line, and therefore the shunt reactors could be eliminated. In this paper, development of ac-superconducting conductors aimed at prevention of current degradation are discussed, as well as quench test results of two small coils made with these conductors. In these conductors, low ac low strands with ultrafine NbTi filaments are twisted around a central bundle of stainless steel wires. One of the coils has been designed as a model coreless autotransformer, and its test result is also described.     

A shell type superconducting transformer for experiments using Nb3Sn superconducting cables

A shell-type superconducting transformer was developed for experiments using Nb₃Sn superconducting cables. The designed capacity is 667 kVA (single phase), the voltage is 440/220 V, the current is 1515/3030 A and the percent impedance is 16 percent. Main features of the transformer are as follows: (1) Magnetic field in superconducting coils is decreased by increasing the number of high and low coil groups. (2) Large-scale superconducting cables are not needed when the number of high and low coil groups is increased. (3) Epoxy impregnated coils are used to withstand an electromagnetic force at 120 Hz. The Nb₃Sn basic strand was manufactured by the internal tin diffusion process. The cable consists of seven insulated subcables, and the subcable consists of seven strands. The primary (HV) coil of the transformer was excited, in which the secondary (LV) coil was shortened. The primary current reached 1618 A_rms without quenching, and the reached capacity corresponds to 712 KA. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 118 (3): 13–21, 1997     

高电流密度超导储能磁体的研制

分析了不同结构超导储能磁体的特点,针对储能量为MJ量级的超导储能磁体计算了漏磁场分布和超导材料的利用率,提出了储能为1 MJ的单螺管型超导储能磁体的设计方案。采用窄液氦通道技术,利用多芯NbTi/Cu复合超导线,研制了储能量为1 MJ的紧凑型超导储能磁体。磁体内径为439 mm,外径为600 mm,高为550 mm。在运行电流为305A时,磁体的最大磁场为4.9 T,中心磁场为4 T。对超导磁体的试验结果表明,磁体的最大运行电流为303 A,放电功率为100 kW。研制的超导储能磁体可作为恒压/恒功率放电的不间断电源的关键部件。     

Ac losses in superconducting coils

AC superconducting wire is being developed for such electrical equipment as superconducting transformers and superconducting generators. AC loss reduction is of primary concern in the development of such high-efficiency equipment. In reducing ac losses, it is necessary to develop assessment methods for ac loss in test samples which have shapes similar to the end-product equipment. This paper described a least squares calculation of ac losses of superconducting wire as a function of frequency and magnetic field strength measured in test coils. Two sample solenoid coils were made to test the influence of different capacities and winding methods on ac losses in ac superconducting coils with rated capacities of 500 kVA and 20 kVA, and impregnated (epoxy resin) and nonimpregnated windings. The ac losses in the superconducting coils were measured by a calorimetric method using the evaporating rates of liquid helium. Estimated ac losses in the superconducting wire of the two coils were compared with Joule losses of copper conductors at ambient temperature. As a result of this comparison, a low-loss ac superconducting wire winding can be made for electrical equipment rather than employing conventional copper winding when used under low magnetic fields less than 0.5 T.     

New type of Nb3Sn fiber-reinforced superconductors for high-field pulsed magnet and effect of thermal stress

A new type of superconductor with high elastic modulus fibers is being developed for the application of high-field pulsed superconducting magnets called Fiber-Reinforced Superconductors (FRS). FRSs have great potential for the construction of a 15-T class pulses magnet with its size kept equal to ITER because stainless steels of cable-in-conduit-conductors could be reduced considerably. This paper presents a technique of preparing FRS and measuring its superconducting characteristics including strain-Ic relation. FRS has a critical current density of 600 (A/mm²/initial niobium) at 15 T, which is almost equal to one of the commercial bronze-processed wires. The intrinsic strain vs. I_c characteristics are similar to that of bronze-processed wire. Thermal strain on FRS also is discussed because materials with high elastic modulus tend to have low thermal contraction which leads to degradation of the superconducting characteristics of the Nb₃Sn layer. Possibilities of overcoming the degradation while maintaining very high elastic modulus of tungsten fiber for reinforcement are shown.     

Cooling characteristics of a large-current capacity AC superconducting cable

Diameter of the superconducting ac composite strand is small, typically 0.1 mm, because the strand must be twisted in a very short pitch to reduce coupling losses. Therefore, current capacity of the single strand is small and in the range of ～10 A. In large-scale electric power apparatus, the conductors must be able to carry large currents and hundreds of these composite strands should be bundled. The composite strand is highly unstable and susceptible to a very small disturbance due to a frictional wire motion because the main matrix of the wire is highly resistive CuNi. For stable operation of an ac superconducting winding, every strand in the bundle cable should be fixed firmly. An effective technique to fix strands is to impregnate the winding by epoxy. In this case, the ac losses in the winding are to be cooled by heat conduction through the epoxy. Therefore, it is important to estimate the temperature rise of the winding to discuss the fact that the epoxy impregnation technique is applicable to the ac superconducting electric power apparatus. In this paper, the mechanism of thermal conduction of the epoxy-impregnated winding at the 4.2 K region is discussed based on experimental data and the temperature rise of a large-scale cable bundles by 7 × 7 × 7 strands calculated considering thermal resistivity at the interface between the epoxy and the strand. The calculated value agrees well with the measured value.     

Magnet Science and Technology for Basic Research at the High Field Laboratory for Superconducting Materials

1 Introduction The High Field Laboratory for SuperconductingMaterials(HFLSM)has demonstrated the activities formaterials science and condensed matter physics,especially for superconducting and magnetic materials.These activities have been supported by Ins…     

超导磁体系统产生的磁场作用下的微重力环境

超导磁体系统产生的磁场力可抑制晶体生长过程中的自然对流,从而提高晶体结晶质量。通过理论分析,得到了实现微重力环境所要求的磁场强度分布。针对特定结构的超导磁体系统,数值模拟得到了不同晶体结晶过程中自然对流完全抑止所需要的线圈电流密度,以及工作空间内的磁场强度和磁加速度。以圆筒内水的自然对流为例,分别得到了重力作用下的流场和温度场,以及超导磁体系统微重力区内的流场和温度场。结果表明:通过特定的超导磁体结构和不同电流密度,可实现不同晶体结晶过程的微重力环境,达到抑止自然对流的目的。     

Development of a 400 kJ Nb3Sn superconducting magnet for an SMES system

An Nb₃Sn superconducting magnet to store 400 kJ was developed as a unit magnet for a 2.4-MJ SMES system used for stabilization studies of electrical power systems. The superconducting magnet consists of a cryostat and an Nb₃Sn coil. The dimensions of the coil are: 340 mm inner diameter, 700 mm outer diameter and 177 mm axial length. The pool-cooled coil is a stack of 20 Nb₃Sn double pancakes, and the cooling channels are aligned between pancake coils. To reduce Joule loss in electrical power converters, the maximum operating current of the coil is designed to be 350 A, which is one order of magnitude less than the operating currents of similar scale coils for pulse use. The conductor is an Nb₃Sn monolithic conductor with cross section 1.50 × 2.38 mm. For good superconducting stability and high dielectric strength of the coil, the Nb₃Sn double pancakes were wound by the react-and-wind technique. Operation of dc current to 105% (367.5 A) of the design operating current was achieved without quench. After the whole of the coil was exposed out of liquid helium, the coil did not quench under 120 A current operation for more than 2 hours. It was verified that the coil was stable for the SMES system. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 121(3): 44–52, 1997     

Performance of a 3000/6000 V, 1000 kVA class superconducting transformer developed for a prospective power transmission model system integrated under superconducting environment (PROMISE)

A 3000/6000V, 1000 kVA class superconducting transformer (SC-Tr) was developed for a Prospective Power Transmission Model System Integrated under Superconducting Environment (PROMISE). In this transformer, the core and superconducting windings are immersed in liquid helium and the major insulation is provided by the liquid helium. This paper describes both the design features and measured characteristics of the SC-Tr. Fundamental characteristics of the SC-Tr are obtained through no-load, short-circuit tests and quench experiments. The results of the no-load test have verified that the SC-Tr has the capability to withstand ac voltage of 3000/6000 V of 60 Hz without any partial discharge. The short-circuit tests have proved that the SC-Tr is capable of carrying ac current of 170 Arms without quench in the superconducting windings. Furthermore, in a real-load experiment with the PROMISE, electric power of 3800 V-460 kVA of 50 Hz in high-voltage side is transmitted through this SC-Tr.     

AC losses in superconducting coils

AC superconducting wire is being developed for such electrical equipment as superconducting transformers and superconducting generators. AC loss reduction is of primary concern in the development of such high-efficiency equipment. In reducing ac losses, it is necessary to develop assessment methods for ac loss in test samples which have shapes similar to the end-product equipment. This paper describes a least-square calculation of ac losses of superconducting wire as a function of frequency and magnetic field strength measured in test coils. Two sample solenoid coils were made to test the influence of different capacities and winding methods on ac losses in ac superconducting coils with rated capacities of 500 kVA and 20 kVA, and impregnated (epoxy resin) and nonimpregnated windings. The ac losses in the superconducting coils were measured by a calorimetric method using the evaporating rates of liquid helium. Estimated ac losses in the superconducting wire of the two coils were compared with Joule losses of copper conductors at ambient temperature. As a result of this comparison, a low-loss ac superconducting wire winding can be made for electrical equipment rather than employing conventional copper winding when used under low magnetic fields under 0.5 T.