LOW AC LOSS YBCO CONDUCTORS FOR TRANSFORMER APPLICATIONS

The Air Force has recognized that the use of high temperature superconductors offers a great opportunity to reduce the weight and size of airborne power systems. There are several emerging airborne systems that will require large amounts of electricalpower while placing severe limitations on the size and weight of the equipment needed to generate and deliver this electrical power. This proposed effort aims to both determine and minimize AC losses experienced by high temperature superconductors inairborne transformer applications. In particular we will address the case where the conductor is exposed to fields where it is possible to constrain a high fraction of the field to lie along the direction parallel to the wide direction of the tape. Anexample of this kind of application is the air-core transformer. The development of lower AC loss high temperature superconductors will benefit commercial power utility applications such as transformers, transmission cables, generators and motors