A Superconducting Fault Current Limiter for Shipboard Power Systems

As the U.S. Navy moves toward greater shipboard electrical loads, advances in transmission, distribution, and protection technologies are becoming more important. In particular, as fault currents increase due to the use of generators with greater voltage and fault currents, circuit breakers with insufficient breaking or short duration carrying capacity are put at risk. Finally, as the U.S. Navy moves toward an Integrated Fight Through Power System, it is important to be able to isolate loads and faults without failure, so the mission at hand can be fulfilled. Superconducting materials are ideal candidates for fault current limiters (FCL) and have been discussed for decades. With the advances in High Temperature Superconductors (HTS), practical implementation is now possible for these applications. Creare proposes to develop a HTS FCL that accomplishes these goals and can be applied directly to future U.S. Navy platforms. In Phase I, we will demonstrate feasibility with a comprehensive design study. We will establish performance goals, as well as metrics, which can be used to evaluate feasibility in Phase II. During Phase II, we will further demonstrate operation of a prototype fault current limiter.