Optimization of operating temperature in cryocooled HTS magnets for compactness and efficiency

A new concept of thermal design to optimize the operating temperature of high temperature superconductor (HTS) magnets is presented, aiming simultaneously at small size and low energy consumption. The magnet systems considered here are refrigerated by a closed-cycle cryocooler, and liquid cryogens may or may not be used as a cooling medium. For a specific magnet application, the size of required HTS windings could be smaller at a lower temperature, by taking advantage of a greater critical current density of HTS. As the temperature decreases, however, the power input to the cryocooler increases dramatically because of the heavy cooling load and the poor refrigeration performance. Through a rigorous modeling and analysis incorporating the effect of magnet size into the load calculation, it is demonstrated that there exists an optimum for the operating temperature to minimize the power required. The optimal temperature is strongly dependent upon the magnitude of AC loss in the magnets and the assistance of heat interception.     

Quench developing process of HTS tape in sinusoidal overcurrents with different amplitudes

Superconducting equipments applied in electric power system might suffer overcurrents during the dynamic state of power system, such as short circuit faults. In those cases, superconducting equipments might transit from superconducting state to normal state, which is called quench, and then brings a series of problems to the supply of electric power. Thus, detecting quench timely and protecting superconducting equipments from overcurrents become an important subject. Our lab has carried out a lot of experiments to study the quench characteristics for the HTS tape in sinusoidal overcurrents with different amplitudes. By the analysis of these experimental data, this paper presents the quench developing process of HTS tape in different currents and puts out a three-stage theory for it. Based on that, the prediction theory for quench detection and protection is put forward.     

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.     

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.     

Quench protection tests of a cryocooler cooled 6 T NbTi superconducting magnet by an active power method

When a quench occurs in a superconducting magnet, excessive joule heating may damage the magnet. We have presented the quench protection system based on an active power method. Our previous quench protection tests have been carried out for small superconducting magnets whose self inductances are less than several hundred mH to verify principles of our proposed system. In this paper, we present experimental results of quench protection tests of a cryocooler cooled 6 T NbTi superconducting magnet (self inductance 15.5 H), which is a commercial size magnet made by Tamakawa Co., Ltd. We confirmed that our proposed system could inhibit the maximum temperature of the superconducting magnet (initial temperature 4.3 K) after the quench to less than about 44 K at operation magnetic field 5.5 T. Experimental results suggest that our proposed system is useful for practical used superconducting magnets.     

Analytical method for the prediction of quench initiation and development in accelerator magnets

The optimal design of the next generation of accelerator magnets calls for a high current density in the superconducting coil, which makes the magnet protection a challenge. Quenches in the high-field magnets for the High Luminosity LHC Upgrade typically develop within tens of ms, and the reaction time needs to be comparable, requiring active firing of heaters or other heat deposition techniques to increase the quench propagation velocity in the magnet. It is important to have a very good understanding of the behavior of a magnet during a quench. Practical scaling laws, and simplified methods, allow quick scans of design and operation parameters, and swift feedback based on experimental results once the magnet is in test. In this paper we describe simplified methods to predict the quench initiation and development in accelerator magnets using active quench protection. We use data from the recent Nb₃Sn model magnets for the High-Luminosity LHC as a benchmark for the method, discussing expected accuracy and the reasons for deviations.     

The role of quench back in quench protection of a superconducting solenoid

This report demonstrates the role of quench back in the quench protection of high current density superconducting solenoid magnets with well-coupled shorted secondary circuits. The phenomenon of ‘quench back’ can be used to greatly reduce the size of an external quench protection resistor or even to eliminate the need for an external quench protection system altogether. A comparison is made with conventional magnet quench protection systems with and without a closely coupled secondary circuit.     

Magneto-structural analysis of the fermilab TQC Nb3Sn high gradient quadrupole end region

The Fermilab TQC magnets are Nb₃Sn technological quadrupoles based on the collar-yoke-skin mechanical structure. These magnets, with an aperture of 90 mm, have a design gradient in excess of 200 T/m. In operation the conductor is subjected to forces which tend to pull it away from the poles and endparts to which it is bonded. Given the implications of bond failure for quench initiation, it is of interest to simulate the behavior of these interfaces. The ANSYS general purpose finite element program is used to perform both the magnetic and structural analyses. Interface elements between bonded parts are monitored during assembly, cool down, and excitation, and the birth–death capability of the program is applied to remove from the solution those portions of the interface which experience a tensile stress in excess of a presumed bond failure stress. The cracking of previously bonded interfaces can be tracked graphically over the range of operation. Emphasis will be placed on the details of the magnetic simulation, the implementation of various interface conditions, and the effects (and shortcomings) of material property models.     

First experience with the new Coupling Loss Induced Quench system

New-generation high-field superconducting magnets pose a challenge relating to the protection of the coil winding pack in the case of a quench. The high stored energy per unit volume calls for a very efficient quench detection and fast quench propagation in order to avoid damage due to overheating.A new protection system called Coupling-Loss Induced Quench (CLIQ) was recently developed and tested at CERN. This method provokes a fast change in the magnet transport current by means of a capacitive discharge. The resulting change in the local magnetic field induces inter-filament and inter-strand coupling losses which heat up the superconductor and eventually initiate a quench in a large fraction of the coil winding pack.The method is extensively tested on a Nb–Ti single-wire test solenoid magnet in the CERN Cryogenic Laboratory in order to assess its performance, optimize its operating parameters, and study new electrical configurations. Each parameter is thoroughly analyzed and its impact on the quench efficiency highlighted.Furthermore, an alternative method is also considered, based on a CLIQ discharge through a resistive coil magnetically coupled with the solenoid but external to it. Due to the strong coupling between the external coil and the magnet, the oscillating current in the external coil changes the magnetic field in the solenoid strands and thus generates coupling losses in the strands. Although for a given charging voltage this configuration usually yields poorer quench performance than a standard CLIQ discharge, it has the advantage of being electrically insulated from the solenoid coil, and thus it can work with much higher voltage.     

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.     

Design, development and experiment of a 1.5 T MgB2 superconducting test magnet

Superconducting magnets using MgB₂ tapes are potentially applicable in many areas, such as medical magnetic resonance imaging and fault current limiting. Under conduction cooling environments, the magnets can work at 15-20 K. In this work, a solenoid structured magnet with ∅ 100 mm bore is designed, built and tested. The maximum field at its center is up to 1.5 T. The field homogeneity, the thermal stability and the quench characteristics in the magnet are also investigated.     

Heat conduction and thermal stabilization in YBCO tape

Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) coated conductors are widely used in the conduction-cooled superconducting magnets with rapid development in refrigeration technologies at present. ‘Quench’ is a state that refers to the irreversible and uncontrolled superconductor to resistive transitions in the superconductor. The propagation of ‘quench’ or ‘normal zone’ has different characteristics in these high temperature superconductors (HTS) compared to low temperature superconductors. The superconductor to normal index, known as ‘n’ is much flatter in HTS. The hot spot emerging in local region due to quench and non-uniform critical current may cause permanent damage to whole HTS tape and hence the magnet winding pack. Thus it is necessary to determine the temperature profile along the length of HTS tape under a given energy (joule heating) such that propagation of the hot spot developed locally can be prevented early. In this study, a one dimensional, time dependent heat diffusion equation with appropriate boundary conditions are used to describe the consequences of the normal zone propagation resulting in the temperature diffusion in a HTS tape. The results demonstrate the necessity of adequate cooling of the edges of the flat HTS tapes to prevent irreversible normal zone transitions.     

Finite element analysis of the localised thermal quench of an HTS tape

In this work, we perform a finite element method (FEM) analysis of the localised thermal quench of a high temperature superconducting (HTS) tape. One 3D thermo-electric coupling FEM model, which is constructed to address the actual development of the localised thermal quench occurred in the HTS tape, has been proposed. One quench experiment is performed to validate this model. It is shown that the mode can quantitatively reflect the dynamic and static quench characteristics when comparing the results of the experiment with the model. The FEM model generates an estimate of the location of the highest temperature and visualisation of the quench dynamics.     

HTS magnets: stability; protection; cryogenics; economics; current stability/protection activities at FBML

The unique features that distinguish a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet from a low-temperature superconducting (LTS) magnet are: (1) operating temperature and (2) temperature span over which the magnet remains superconducting. Thus, for two magnets, one HTS and the other LTS, both satisfying the same set of field specifications, the operating temperature and the operating range of temperature of the HTS magnet are generally an order of magnitude greater than that of the LTS magnet. In this CHATS 2002 Workshop, four issues, i.e., stability, protection, cryogenics, and economic issues will be examined as they are impacted by the two unique features, first as a general introduction to this presentation, between HTS and LTS magnets. This is followed by discussion of economics of large-scale HTS devices, specifically of fusion; electric power devices; high-energy physics; research-purpose NMR; and high-B DC magnets. The paper concludes with a presentation of preliminary results of stability/protection research presently being performed at the FBML.     

Quench detection method without a central voltage tap by calculating active power

In this paper, we present an electric quench detection method without a central voltage tap which may cause the short-circuit of the lead-wires from the voltage taps in the quench detection of a large AC superconducting coil. In this method, an inductive voltage detection coil is used instead of the central voltage tap. The inductive voltage detection coil is electrically insulated from a superconducting coil and therefore the lead-wires do not break down. Through the quench detection tests for a Bi-2223/Ag HTS coil, we show the feasibility of the proposed method for detecting the quench of the large AC superconducting coil.     

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.     

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.     

A 12 T 80 mm bore superconducting V3Ga NbTi magnet system

A V₃Ga-NbTi magnet system for a field of 12 T in 80 mm clear bore is described. The V₃Ga and NbTi magnets are connected in series to one power supply. The differences in the materials (NbTi multifilamentary wire and V₃Ga bronze processed stranded cable) require special measures for protection during a quench. In the V₃Ga magnet no training or degradation was observed. The short sample critical current value was reached in the V₃Ga magnet with a reversible active voltage which made it possible to reduce the current without quench.     

Normal zone propagation characteristics of the HTS wires by heat energy applied

With the successful commercialization of Bi-2223 powder-in-tube wire, various attempts in the R&D of the high-T_c superconducting (HTS) magnets for high magnetic field applications are being implemented actively. Operating temperature of HTS magnet has to be maintained at the designed level but the magnetic energy and mechanical disturbance can cause unstable operational temperature of HTS magnet. Especially, the generated heat energy of inner HTS winding is apt to be accumulated, so the normal region appears in HTS winding. This paper deals with the quenching characteristics of three kinds of selected Bi-2223 wires: the high current density wire (HC-A) and the high strength wire (HS-A) made by AMSC and HTS wire (HW-I) made by Innost. The Innost wire has the highest minimum quench energy (MQE). The high current density wire has the highest normal zone propagation velocity (NZPV).     

Lumped-Element Dynamic Electro-Thermal model of a superconducting magnet

Modeling accurately electro-thermal transients occurring in a superconducting magnet is challenging. The behavior of the magnet is the result of complex phenomena occurring in distinct physical domains (electrical, magnetic and thermal) at very different spatial and time scales. Combined multi-domain effects significantly affect the dynamic behavior of the system and are to be taken into account in a coherent and consistent model.A new methodology for developing a Lumped-Element Dynamic Electro-Thermal (LEDET) model of a superconducting magnet is presented. This model includes non-linear dynamic effects such as the dependence of the magnet’s differential self-inductance on the presence of inter-filament and inter-strand coupling currents in the conductor. These effects are usually not taken into account because superconducting magnets are primarily operated in stationary conditions. However, they often have significant impact on magnet performance, particularly when the magnet is subject to high ramp rates.Following the LEDET method, the complex interdependence between the electro-magnetic and thermal domains can be modeled with three sub-networks of lumped-elements, reproducing the electrical transient in the main magnet circuit, the thermal transient in the coil cross-section, and the electro-magnetic transient of the inter-filament and inter-strand coupling currents in the superconductor. The same simulation environment can simultaneously model macroscopic electrical transients and phenomena at the level of superconducting strands.The model developed is a very useful tool for reproducing and predicting the performance of conventional quench protection systems based on energy extraction and quench heaters, and of the innovative CLIQ protection system as well.