Resistive-Type Superconducting Fault Current Limiters: Concepts, Materials, and Numerical Modeling

Ruiz, H. S.; Zhang, X.; Coombs, Tim

doi:10.1109/tasc.2014.2387115

Cited by 57 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In recent years, advances in the development of high-temperature superconducting coils with rare-earth barium-copper oxide (REBCO)-coated conductors have drawn significant attention by the community of researchers in applied superconductivity, thanks to the vast progress in the technology of thin films that has enabled the fabrication of the second generation of high-temperature superconducting (2G-HTS) tapes in the past decade. Thence, the formulation of modelling tools for describing the electromagnetic and thermal properties of such 2G-HTS tapes and their use in high-power-density coils for applications such as superconducting fault current limiters [1,2,3], transformers [4,5], power generators [6,7,8], motors [9,10,11,12], energy storage systems [13,14,15], permanent magnets [16,17], and magnetic imaging machines [18,19] is currently a motivating force of intensive research due to the inherent complexity of the material law that governs the electrical properties of the superconducting compound, the computational challenges that are imposed by the large cross-sectional aspect ratio of the 2G-HTS tape, and ultimately, the actual size of the coils that need to be modelled before investing in usually large and customised cryogenic facilities for their experimental testing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Choose the Superconducting Material Law for the Modelling of 2G-HTS Coils

Robert

Fareed

2019

Materials

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In an attempt to unveil the impact of the material law selection on the numerical modelling and analysis of the electromagnetic properties of superconducting coils, in this paper we compare the four most common approaches to the E-J power laws that serve as a modelling tool for the conductivity properties of the second generation of high-temperature superconducting (2G-HTS) tapes. The material laws considered are: (i) the celebrated E-J critical-state like-model, with constant critical current density and no dependence with the magnetic field; (ii) the classical Kim’s model which introduces an isotropic dependence with the environment magnetic field; (iii) a semi-empirical Kim-like model with an orthonormal field dependence, J c ( B ) , widely used for the modelling of HTS thin films; and (iv) the experimentally measured E–J material law for SuperPower Inc. 2G-HTS tapes, which account for the magneto-angular anisotropy of the in-field critical current density J c ( B ; θ ) , with a derived function similar to Kim’s model but taking into account some microstructural parameters, such as the electron mass anisotropy ratio ( γ ) of the superconducting layer. Particular attention has been given to those physical quantities which within a macroscopic approach can be measured by well-established experimental setups, such as the measurement of the critical current density for each of the turns of the superconducting coil, the resulting distribution of magnetic field, and the curve of hysteretic losses for different amplitudes of an applied alternating transport current at self-field conditions. We demonstrate that although all these superconducting material laws are equally valid from a purely qualitative perspective, the critical state-like model is incapable of predicting the local variation of the critical current density across each of the turns of the superconducting coil, or its non-homogeneous distribution along the width of the superconducting tape. However, depending on the physical quantity of interest and the error tolerance allowed between the numerical predictions and the experimental measurements, in this paper decision criteria are established for different regimes of the applied current, where the suitability of one or another model could be ensured, regardless of whether the actual magneto angular anisotropy properties of the superconducting tape are known.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Choose the Superconducting Material Law for the Modelling of 2G-HTS Coils

Robert

Fareed

2019

Materials

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“…SFCL offers negligible resistance under normal conditions and operates as a fault current limiter by introducing large resistance instantaneously upon quenching [25]. The use of SFCL's to limit the surge currents in DC systems was already proved by integrating them in series to the DC links and battery banks [26,27].…”

Section: A Using Sfclmentioning

confidence: 99%

DC Line to Line Short-Circuit Fault Management in a Turbo-Electric Aircraft Propulsion System Using Superconducting Devices

Venuturumilli

Berg

Prisse

et al. 2019

IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.

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Electric aircraft has already become a reality, with demonstration flights at power ratings of less than 1 MVA. Conventional machines and distribution technologies suffer from poor power densities when scaling to large power demands, leading to significant challenges in applying this technology from small (<10seater) to large (>100-seater) planes. Superconducting devices could be an enabler for electric aviation due to their great potential for high efficiency and low weight. However, while the development of the superconducting components presents a significant challenge, the safe and effective combination of such components into a propulsion system also requires a significant area of research. For this purpose, a signal-based Matlab-Simscape model for a DC network architecture in a turbo-electric aircraft has been established and the highly nonlinear models for the superconducting devices have been developed and integrated. This network model has been used to understand the fault current magnitude and rise time, as well as the stability behavior of the system utilizing the realistic electro-thermal models of superconducting devices in it. The derived network was investigated for a bus bar short circuit fault using both superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) and fault current limiting high temperature superconducting (FCL HTS) cable. Based on the network characteristics, a fault tolerant DC network design was achieved by utilizing the FCL HTS cables. Similarly, the operation limits of the protection devices have been reduced greatly using superconducting components.  Index Terms-Aircraft Propulsion, Fault tolerance, HTS cables, Power system faults, Short circuit currents, System engineering. I. INTRODUCTION URBO-ELECTRIC aircraft propulsion system is a novel idea [1], capable of realizing the emission standards set by the Flightpath 2050 [2]. Replacement of the conventional engines with electric propulsion motors was speculated to be the prom-Manuscript receipt and acceptance dates will be inserted here. This work was supported by Airbus Group Innovations.

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“…Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that under these conditions the SFCL acts as a small resistance defined by R n = 10 −6 Ω [10,16]. Then, the fault pro-tection capabilities of the SFCL are captured by modelling the quenching properties of the superconducting material beyond the steady-state conditions [12], where the time-dependance comes into play either via a simplified exponential function for the resistance dynamics of the SFCL under fault conditions [9,17,18], or a temperature dependent E − J power law describing the flux-creep and flux-flow properties of the superconducting material [19,20]. In the first model, once the SFCL detects the occurrence of a fault event, its nominal resistance swiftly increases towards the maximum resistance of the quenched material (R m ) until the clearance of the fault at t = t f c is achieved, i.e.,…”

Section: Power System Configuration and Sfcl Schemementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, solutions can be provided for isolated scenarios [10,11,12], although a detailed analysis is necessary to select the correct and most economical solution for a particular situation (fault location, particular network, and SFCL location). Nevertheless, for each scenario and with a predefined location for installing the SFCL, it is possible to study the reliability figures of the protection scheme, by analysing the multiple locations where a fault event may occur, i.e, the first peak limiting performance is assessed at the different busbars of a power network under different fault events.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal location and minimum number of superconducting fault current limiters for the protection of power grids

Zhang

Geng

Coombs

2017

International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems

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This paper presents a novel method to determine the optimal strategy for the allocation of multiple resistive superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) aiming to improve the overall protection of standard power grids. The presented approach allows for the straightforward determination of the optimal resistance of the SFCL, accounting for short circuit events occurring at different locations, by modelling the electro-thermal properties of the SFCL via a temperature dependent E-J power law. This material law, based on previous experimental evidence, allows for the introduction of flux pinning, flux creep, and flux flow properties of the superconducting material within a minimum level of complexity. Thereby, we have observed a distinctive kink pattern in the current limiting profiles of the SFCLs, from which no further reduction of the first peak of the fault current is achieved when a greater resistance is considered, allowing a univocal determination of the optimum SFCL resistance. This peculiarity is not observed when the model for the quench properties of the SFCL is simplified towards an exponential resistance, although the last can be used as an auxiliary process for addressing the first guess on the resistance value required for a specific strategy, as it demands less computing time. We have also determined that for many of the cases studied, i.e, for the combinations between one or more SFCLs installed at different locations, and those subjected to fault events located at different points in the network, the recovery time of the superconducting properties of at least one of the SFCLs can last for more than five minutes, constraining the feasibility of a large-scale deployment of this technology. However, by assuming that the practical operation of the SFCL is assisted by the automatic operation of a bypass switch when the SC material is fully quenched, we have determined that the optimal strategy for the overall protection of power grids of standard topology requires a maximum of three SFCLs, with recovery times of less than a few seconds. This information is of remarkable value for power system operators, as it can establish a maximum investment threshold which ultimately can facilitate making decisions regarding the deployment of SFCL technologies.

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Resistive-Type Superconducting Fault Current Limiters: Concepts, Materials, and Numerical Modeling

Cited by 57 publications

References 53 publications

How to Choose the Superconducting Material Law for the Modelling of 2G-HTS Coils

How to Choose the Superconducting Material Law for the Modelling of 2G-HTS Coils

DC Line to Line Short-Circuit Fault Management in a Turbo-Electric Aircraft Propulsion System Using Superconducting Devices

Optimal location and minimum number of superconducting fault current limiters for the protection of power grids

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