The ability of large grain, REBa2Cu3O7- [(RE)BCO; RE = rare earth] bulk superconductors to trap magnetic field is determined by their critical current. With high trapped fields, however, bulk samples are subject to a relatively large Lorentz force, and their performance is limited primarily by their tensile strength. Consequently, sample reinforcement is the key to performance improvement in these technologically important materials. In this work, we report a trapped field of 17.6 T, the largest reported to date, in a stack of two, silver-doped GdBCO superconducting bulk samples, each of diameter 25 mm, fabricated by top-seeded melt growth (TSMG) and reinforced with shrink-fit stainless steel. This sample preparation technique has the advantage of being relatively straightforward and inexpensive to implement and offers the prospect of easy access to portable, high magnetic fields without any requirement for a sustaining current source.

The physics and technology of superconducting bearings is reviewed. Particular attention is given to the use of high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) in rotating bearings. The basic phenomenology of levitational forces is presented, followed by a brief discussion of the theoretical models that can be used for conceptual understanding and calculations. The merits of various HTS bearing designs are presented, and the behaviour of HTS bearings in typical situations is discussed. The article concludes with a brief survey of various proposed applications for HTS bearings.

The vertical and horizontal forces and associated stiffnesses on a permanent magnet (PM) above a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) were measured during vertical and horizontal traverses in zero-field cooling (ZFC) and in field cooling (FC). In ZFC, the vertical stiffness was greater in the first descent than in the first ascent and second descent, and the stiffness in the second descent was between those of the first descent and the first ascent. At the FC position, the vertical stiffness was two times greater than the lateral stiffness at each height, to within 1% of the vertical stiffness value. The cross stiffness of vertical force with respect to lateral position was positive for FC, but negative for ZFC. Free-spin-down experiments of a PM levitated above a HTS were also performed. These results showed that the coefficient of friction is double valued at frequencies just below the rotor resonance, a result attributed to cross stiffness in the PM/HTS interaction. A frozen-image model was used to calculate the vertical and horizontal forces and stiffnesses, and reasonable agreement with the data occurred for vertical or horizontal movements of the PM less than several mm from the FC position.

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An overview summary of recent Boeing work on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) bearings is presented. A design is presented for a small flywheel energy storage system that is deployable in a field installation. The flywheel is suspended by a HTS bearing whose stator is conduction cooled by connection to a cryocooler. At full speed, the flywheel has 5 kW h of kinetic energy, and it can deliver 3 kW of three-phase 208 V power to an electrical load. The entire system, which includes a containment structure, is compatible with transportation by forklift or crane. Laboratory measurements of the bearing loss are combined with the parasitic loads to estimate the efficiency of the system. Improvements in structural composites are expected to enable the operation of flywheels with very high rim velocities. Small versions of such flywheels will be capable of very high rotational rates and will likely require the low loss inherent in HTS bearings to achieve these speeds. We present results of experiments with small-diameter rotors that use HTS bearings for levitation and rotate in vacuum at kHz rates. Bearing losses are presented as a function of rotor speed.