Alternating current loss calculation in a high-TC superconducting transmission cable considering the magnetic field distribution

Abstract

We have calculated the alternating current (ac) losses of a 114 MVA high-TC superconducting (HTS) transmission cable using an electric-circuit (EC) model. The HTS cable is fabricated by Tokyo Electric Power Company and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. The EC model is comprised of a resistive part and an inductive part. The resistive part is obtained by the approximated Norris equation for a HTS tape. The Norris equation indicates hysteresis losses due to self-fields. The inductive part has two components, i.e. inductances related to axial fields and those related to circumferential fields. The layer currents and applied fields of each layer were calculated by the EC model. By using both values, the ac losses of the one-phase HTS cable were obtained by calculation considering the self-field, the axial field and the circumferential field of the HTS tape. The measured ac loss transporting 1 kArms is 0.7 W m−1 ph−1, which is equal to the calculation. The distribution of each layer loss resembles in shape the distribution of the circumferential field in each layer, which indicates that the circumferential fields strongly influence the ac losses of the HTS cable.