Calculation and Testing of Alternating Current (AC) Losses in Coated Conductors and the Development of Practical Conductors and Coils for Operational

The use of coated HT superconductors in the ac windings of electrical machines offers the possibility of much lighter electrical devices. To use these conductors at proposed high frequencies, present “as-manufactured” conductor geometries must be modified to reduce their ac loss by using fine filaments and other topologies). Equally important are more global winding losses requiring suitable transpositions to reduce circulating eddy losses and topologies that minimize ac losses due to transport currents, the conductivity between filaments and losses in substrates. Solving these problems, will require unique conductor designs and unique coil and windings designs developed with analytical tools that can predict losses in complex fields and complex geometries. In Phase I we began developing accurate ac loss models for realistic conductors and realistic environments. In Phase II we will complete these models, and package them in “user friendly” programs available to the industry. We will continue the development of low loss conductors and winding topologies and conduct long sample tests of conductors both in laboratory settings and, most significantly, in a full size 2MW HTS generator that will be adapted to provide an agile and economical test rig for conductors and full size windings in realistic operating environments