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In this contribution, we develop a refined numerical model of pancake coils assembled from a coated conductor Roebel cable, which includes the angular dependence of the critical current density Jc on the magnetic field and the actual (three-dimensional) shape of the current lead used to inject the current. Previous works of ours indicate that this latter has an important influence on the measured value of the AC losses. For the simulation of the superconductor, we used two alternative models based on different descriptions of the superconductor’s properties and implemented in different mathematical schemes. For the simulation of the current lead we use a full three-dimensional finite-element model. The results of the simulation are compared with measurements and the main issues related to the modeling and the measurement of Roebel coils are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

High temperature superconductor Roebel cables are well known for their large current capacity and low AC losses. For this reason they have become attractive candidates for many power applications. The continuous transposition of their strands reduces the coupling losses while ensuring better current sharing among them. However, since Roebel cables have a true 3D structure and are made of several high aspect ratio coated conductors, modelling and simulation of their electromagnetic properties is very challenging. Therefore, a realistic model taking into account the actual layout of the cable is unavoidably a large scale computational problem. In this work, we present a full 3D model of a Roebel cable with 14 strands. The model is based on the H-formulation, widely used for 2D problems. In order to keep the 3D features of the cable (in particular the magnetization currents near the transpositions), no simplifications are made other than the reduction of the modelled length according to the periodicity of the cable structure. The 3D model is used to study the dependence of AC losses on the amplitude of the AC applied magnetic field or transport current. Beyond the importance of simulating the Roebel cable layout, this work represents a further step into achieving 3D simulation of superconducting devices for real applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A homogenization method to model a stack of second generation High Temperature Superconducting tapes under AC applied transport current or magnetic field has been obtained. The idea is to find an anisotropic bulk equivalent for the stack such that the geometrical layout of the internal alternating structures of insulating, metallic, superconducting, and substrate layers is 'washed' out while keeping the overall electromagnetic behavior of the original stack. We disregard assumptions upon the shape of the critical region and use a power law E-J relationship allowing for overcritical current densities to be considered. The method presented here allows for a computational speedup factor of up to 2 orders of magnitude when compared to full 2-D simulations taking into account the actual dimensions of the stacks without compromising accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the $H$ formulation of Maxwell's equations has become the de facto standard for simulating the time-dependent electromagnetic behavior of superconducting applications with commercial software. However, there are cases where other formulations are desirable, for example for modeling superconducting turns in electrical machines or situations where the superconductor is better described by the critical state than by a power-law resistivity. In order to accurately and efficiently handle these situations, here we consider two approaches based on the magnetic vector potential: the $T$ - $A$ formulation of Maxwell's equations (with power-law resistivity) and the implementation of a quasi critical state model (QCSM) with a steep $E$ - $J$ relationship limited at $J_{\rm c}$. In this article, we extend the $T$ - $A$ formulation to thick conductors so that large coils with different coupling scenarios between the turns can be considered. We also discuss the QCSM in terms of its ability to calculate ac losses: in particular, we investigate the dependence of the calculated ac losses on the frequency of the ac excitation and the possibility of using quick one-step (instead of full-cycle) simulations to calculate the ac losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within a German government funded project with the partners Siemens and KIT, we present the concept and first results for a full-scale inductive superconducting fault current limiter. It is based on the well-known shielded core concept but does not need the deployment of an iron core. Aim of the project is the construction and test of one phase with a nominal current I = 600 A and a voltage of U = 10 kV, i.e., a protected power of P = 10 MVA for the three-phase system. The shielding is provided by a stack of superconducting rings, i.e., YBCO-tapes soldered to closed rings, with a radius of R = 0.7 m. To obtain a sufficient coupling between the reactor (primary coil, warm) and the shielding stack, the minimization of the gap between both is crucial. The paper presents numerical work with respect to the overall geometry and the physical properties (limitation behavior, ac-losses) of the device. Also a suitable superconducting material had to be qualified. Finally, a test equipment for single components (rings) was built up and successful tests of first superconducting full size components are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]