SELF-RESTORING FAULT CURRENT LIMITER UTILIZING HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR COMPONENTS

ILLINOIS SUPERCONDUCTOR CORP. WILL DESIGN AND TEST FAULT CURRENT LIMITERS WHICH USE RECENTLY DISCOVERED HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIALS TO PROTECT VITAL SPACECRAFT COMPONENTS FROM UNPREDICTABLE POWER SURGES AND SPIKES. THESE DEVICES WILL ALSO FIND USE IN THE ULTRA-HIGH SPEED SWITCHING OF VERY LARGE CURRENTS, A KEY TO FUTURE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEMS. THE KEY TO THESE COMPONENTS IS THE CLEVER USE OF WHAT HAS BEEN CONSIDERED A WEAKNESS IN THE NEW SUPERCONDUCTORS - A LIMIT IN THE MATERIAL'S ABILITY TO CARRY CURRENT. THROUGH CAREFUL ENGINEERING, THE CURRENT LIMITER CARRIES NORMAL LEVELS OF ELECTRICITY WITH NO LOSSES DUE TO RESISTANCE. WHEN A POWER SPIKE OCCURS, THE DEVICE LOSSES ITS SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND BECOMES AN ELECTRICAL BRAKE, PROTECTING MORE FRAGILE DEVICES DOWNSTREAM FROM THE SURGE. THIS PRODUCT CAN BE USED IN THE COMMERCIAL POWER DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY. THERE, A DEVICE TO PROTECT ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS FROM POWER SURGES CAN SAVE UTILITIES HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CAPITAL AND OPERATIONAL COSTS.