A self-consistent model for estimating the critical current of superconducting devices

Abstract

Nowadays, there is growing interest in using superconducting wires or tapes for the design and manufacture of devices such as cables, coils, rotating machinery, transformers and fault current limiters among others. Their high current capacity has made them the candidates of choice for manufacturing compact and light cables and coils that can be used in the large scale power applications described above. However, the performance of these cables and coils is limited by their critical current, which is determined by several factors, including the conductor's material properties and the geometric layout of the device itself. In this work we present a self-consistent model for estimating the critical current of superconducting devices. This is of large importance when the operating conditions are such that the self-field produced by the current is comparable to the overall background field. The model is based on the asymptotic limit when time approaches infinity of Faraday's equation written in terms of the magnetic vector potential. It uses a continuous E-J relationship and takes the angular dependence of the critical current density on the magnetic flux density into account. The proposed model is used to estimate the critical current of superconducting devices such as cables, coils, and coils made of transposed cables with very high accuracy. The high computing speed of this model makes it an ideal candidate for design optimization.

References in corpus (4)

• Roebel cables from REBCO coated conductors: a one-century-old concept for the superconductivity of the future
• Self-consistent Modeling of the $I_c$ of HTS Devices: How Accurate do Models Really Need to Be?
• Self-field Effects and AC Losses in Pancake Coils Assembled from Coated Conductor Roebel Cables
• DC and AC Characterization of Pancake Coils Made from Roebel-Assembled Coated Conductor Cable

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Modeling of screening currents in coated conductor magnets containing up to 40000 turns
• Open Source Codes for Computing the Critical Current of Superconducting Devices
• Estimation of hysteretic losses for MgB2 tapes under the operating conditions of a generator
• DC Characterization of a Circular, Epoxy-Impregnated High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Coil