The effects of co-wound Kapton, stainless steel and copper, in comparison with no insulation, on the time constant and stability of GdBCO pancake coils

Abstract

Recently, studies of partially insulated, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coils have shown application in the design and construction of compact, stable and self-protecting HTS coils. This article presents the electrical characteristics of HTS coils based on the turn-to-turn inserted materials and conditions. Three partially co-wound pancake coils were fabricated and tested. Each coil was partially co-wound with Kapton, stainless steel and copper tape at every fourth turn of the winding. Tested coils were co-wound on every turn with Kapton, stainless steel and copper tape, and coils without turn-to-turn insulation were the control group. Charge–discharge, sudden-discharge and over-current tests were performed to evaluate the performance of the fabricated coils. The experimental results show that the properties of materials inserted into the coil can control the time constant (τ). Therefore, HTS coils can be designed for specific purposes according to the time constant control. The experimental results of the study could be useful in designing HTS coil applications.