Observation of a non-uniform current distribution in stacked high temperature superconducting tapes

High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) improve upon low temperature superconductors in many ways and the ability to cope with a non-uniform current distribution might be one of those improvements. To put this to the test, an experimental setup is designed to force a non-uniform current upon a stack of 5 HTS tapes, using a worst case current feeding method. The experiment can help determine the potential of this conductor design and is part of the ongoing effort to develop a non-transposed stacked HTS conductor for the nuclear fusion reactor FFHR. The results clearly show that the conductor sample is able to stably conduct a current equal to its critical current, although at an elevated electric field of roughly 5 mV/m. This means non-transposed stacked tape conductors remain stable, even if a worst case nonuniform current is constantly forced upon them. A hypothesis to explain this abnormally high electric field is formulated on the basis of the results, however additional research is needed to verify it. It states that the electric field is necessary for the tapes to share current and would mean that in a properly engineered application, these losses due to the electric field, would only occur during start-up. Overall it is clear that this experiment proves the excellent stability of non-transposed stacked HTS tapes and their ability to conduct a non-uniform current

Self-field measurements of an HTS twisted stacked-tape cable conductor

For a twisted stacked-tape cable (TSTC) conductor composed of REBCO tapes, self-field measurements were conducted with Hall sensors. In the measurements, a 650 mm diameter single turn coil wound with the TSTC conductor, which was made with 48 REBCO tapes whose width was 6 mm, was utilized as a test sample. Based on the measurement results, the current distribution of the TSTC conductor was investigated with analytical models. The analytical results indicate the current distribution of the TSTC is uniform under the condition that the operating current is 10 kA and the sample temperature is approximately 30 K. On the other hand, the current distribution is not uniform at the excitation and the degauss of the TSTC conductor with the ramp rate of 50 A/s

Highly Efficient Liquid Hydrogen Storage System by Magnetic Levitation Using HTS Coils

Highly efficient liquid hydrogen storage system is studied with magnetic levitation using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coils. The system also has high safety in case of emergency, such as an earthquake, with a seismic isolation to absorb vibrations provided by HTS levitation coils setup on the ground side. In such an emergency case, it is considered that a large amount of ac losses are generated in HTS coils, and the winding temperature may rise to lead to a coil quench. In this study, the self-oscillation-type heat pipe (OHP), whose thermal transport property is much greater than that of solid thermal conduction, is used to cool the coil windings. As a result, an HTS coil equipped with an OHP cooling system can be realized, supporting both low heat loads in the usual operation and high heat loads in an emergency

Progress in the Conceptual Design of the Helical Fusion Reactor FFHR-d1

The LHD-type helical fusion reactor FFHR has been studied to realize steady-state fusion power generation without a need for current drive and free from disruption. The conceptual design studies of FFHR are steadfastly progressing based on the presently ongoing experiments in the Large Helical Device (LHD). In order to enhance the attractive features of the base option of FFHR-d1A, which is similar to LHD, configuration optimization is being considered for FFHR-d1C. Slight modification of the helical coil trajectory gives an improved condition both for the plasma confinement and the MHD stability. In order to overcome the difficulty for construction and maintenance associated with the three-dimensional structure, innovative ideas are being explored for the superconducting magnet, divertor, and blanket. For the superconducting helical coils, the joint-winding method confirms a fast manufacturing process. The helical divertor is reexamined and practical feasibility is discussed. The maintenance method of the helical divertor and the helically-segmented breeder blanket is a serious issue and a plausible solution is proposed

Test of 10 kA-Class HTS WISE Conductor in High Magnetic Field Facility

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) conductor is a feasible candidate to make magnets for the next generation fusion devices because of its higher temperature margins and higher critical current in a high magnetic field in comparison to low-temperature superconducting (LTS) conductors. The recently proposed concept of the HTS-WISE (Wound and Impregnated Stacked Elastic tapes) conductor was studied to clarify its characteristics under certain magnetic fields. The WISE conductor, including 30-stacked REBCO (Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide) tapes, was fabricated and energized in a 9-T test facility which produced the condition of magnetic field B = 5 - 8 T and a temperature T = 30 - 50 K. Obtained critical currents (5.4 - 10.8 kA) increased with a decreasing magnetic field and/or temperature under the condition of T > 40 K. The maximum current of 16.9 kA was obtained at T = 30 K, which corresponded to the engineering current density jE = 60 A/mm2. Experimental results showed qualitative agreement with numerical calculations of the critical current. We confirmed the operation of the WISE conductor under a high magnetic field and low temperature

Bridge-Type Mechanical Lap Joint of a 100 kA-Class HTS Conductor having Stacks of GdBCO Tapes

In this paper, we reported design, fabrication and test of a prototype 100-kA-class high-temperature superconducting (HTS) conductor, especially for joint section, to be used for segmented HTS helical coils in the FFHR-d1 heliotron-type fusion reactor. The conductor has a geometry of three rows and fourteen layers of Gadolinium Barium Copper Oxide HTS (GdBCO) tapes embedded in copper and stainless steel jackets and has a joint section with bridge-type mechanical lap joint. We introduced improved method to fabricate the joint based on pilot experiments and we were able to apply a current of ∼ 120 kA at 4.2 K, 0.45 T to the sample without quench at joint. The obtained joint resistance was ∼ 2 nΩ, which was lower than our previous data. Though joint resistance increased with a rise in current and magnetic field, predicted joint resistance in the environment of actual helical coil in the FFHR-d1 was small enough to properly run the cryoplant of the reactor

Bridge-Type Mechanical Lap Joint of a 100 kA-Class HTS Conductor having Stacks of GdBCO Tapes * )

In this paper, we reported design, fabrication and test of a prototype 100-kA-class high-temperature superconducting (HTS) conductor, especially for joint section, to be used for segmented HTS helical coils in the FFHR-d1 heliotron-type fusion reactor. The conductor has a geometry of three rows and fourteen layers of Gadolinium Barium Copper Oxide HTS (GdBCO) tapes embedded in copper and stainless steel jackets and has a joint section with bridge-type mechanical lap joint. We introduced improved method to fabricate the joint based on pilot experiments and we were able to apply a current of ∼ 120 kA at 4.2 K, 0.45 T to the sample without quench at joint. The obtained joint resistance was ∼ 2 nΩ, which was lower than our previous data. Though joint resistance increased with a rise in current and magnetic field, predicted joint resistance in the environment of actual helical coil in the FFHR-d1 was small enough to properly run the cryoplant of the reactor