Shielding Currents Research Articles

Lightning current Risetime influence on inductive coupling effect of secondary shield cable in substation

Secondary cables are susceptible to lightning surge currents when substation is struck by lightning. Little work has been made to the effects of surge currents in substation secondary cables, particularly the effects of surge current rise time. Six types of simulated lightning surge currents with different rise times, ranging from 5.7 μs to 25.4 μs, were injected into the substation grounding grid, and the inductive voltage from core wire to ground and the shield current in the closed loop of the buried secondary cable were measured simultaneously. The inductive coupling characteristics and the effect of rise time on shielding factor (SF) of buried secondary cables were investigated using time-frequency domain method. The results indicate that the surge current with shorter rise time will induce higher core-wire voltage and higher the shield current on the secondary cable. Double-end grounding of the shielding layer can significantly reduce the cable coupling response, especially reduce the high-frequency component of the inductive voltage at 10 to 100 kHz with steeper surge currents. The SF of secondary cable increases exponentially from 1.91 dB to 8.15 dB as the rise time of the lightning surge current decreases.

An experimental study on fire ignition in collector cable in wind power generation system caused by direct lightning strike

AbstractA separable connector is used for the power cables and apparatuses in renewable energy systems. The shield of the collector cable is sometimes an open circuit at one end to reduce power loss due to the shield current. However, this has a disadvantage from the viewpoint of lightning protection. The semiconductive part of the separable connector is grounded for safety. The ground potential rise due to a direct lightning strike to a wind tower sometimes damages the collector cables and power apparatuses in the wind tower. Combustion in a cable is one of the most serious types of lightning‐caused damage. This paper describes an experimental study on fire ignition in a collector cable caused by a ground potential rise due to a direct lightning strike to a receptor. The mechanism leading to fire ignition is discussed based on the experimental results. This paper also proposes a countermeasure against such fire ignition.

Parametric Design of a 3D-Printed Removable Common-Mode Trap for Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Radiofrequency coils are utilized during transmit and receive of MRI signals. Cable traps remove common-mode current from the coaxial cable shield, which helps improve the image quality and reduces risks of burns to the patient. Traditional cable traps use wounded coaxial cables that limit the flexibility in the design process. Floating cable traps were introduced which eliminated any physical connection between the trap and coaxial cable, allowing complete flexibility in design and placement. However, the design process of floating cable traps is iterative and may take several rounds of 3D modeling. This work seeks to optimize the design process through the use of parametric design methodologies. The proposed methodology allows for 3D printing the floating cable trap after inputting the design parameters. The cable trap was able to attenuate currents in the coaxial shields to -48 dB, highlighting its performance and design robustness.

Practical Forecasting of AC Losses in Multi-Layer 2G-HTS Cold Dielectric Conductors

With the recent progresses on the designing and manufacturing of lightweight superconducting cables with high engineering current density, the need for a reliable, fast, and accurate computational model forecasting the alternating current (AC) losses of cold-dielectric conductors is pivotal for power grid investors and operators. However, validating such models is not an easy task. This is due to the low availability of experimental data for large scale power cables, and likewise, because of the large computational burden which underlies the total number of second generational high temperature superconducting (2G-HTS) tapes in the modelling of realistic power cables. Thus, aiming to overcome these challenges, we present a detailed two-dimensional H-model capable to reproduce the experimentally measured AC-losses of multi-layer power cables made of tens of 2G-HTS tapes. Two cable designs with very high critical currents ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{1.7}~kA$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{3.2}~kA$</tex-math></inline-formula> ) have been considered. These are composed of five and six concentric layers wound over a cylindrical former consisting of 50 and 67 2G-HTS tapes, respectively. In both situations a remarkable resemblance between the simulations and experiments has been found, offering a unique view of the local electrodynamics of the wound tapes where the mechanisms of shielding, magnetization, and transport currents coexist within the hysteretic process.

Reduction of High-Voltage Cable Line Capacity Caused by Implementation of Magnetic Field Shielding Techniques

The paper deals with a capacity of high-voltage cable line made of three single-core cross-linked polyethylene insulated power cables. We consider three cases. First is a single-point bonded cable system when no magnetic field shielding technique is implemented and the capacity achieves maximum values. Second is a solidly bonded cable system when a thermal effect of induced shield currents causes a capacity reduction. The third case under study is a single-point bonded cable system covered by the passive loop. The passive loop mitigates the cable line magnetic field as well as the solidly bonding does, but also the thermal effect of passive loop currents reduces the capacity. The goal of the paper is to evaluate the relative change of cable line capacity when implementing magnetic field shielding techniques comparably to unshielded case. To achieve the goal we use a standard IEC 60287 when calculating the cable line capacity in the first and the second cases, and a thermal field simulation in the third case. The capacity is evaluated by successive approximations. Iterations are stopped when the conductor reaches the maximum operating temperature. We show that the increase in cable spacing does not guarantee the capacity increase when the solid bonding of cable shields or the passive loop is used. The most significant result is the substantiation of the advantages of passive loop, which provides the greater capacity in comparison with solid bonding at equivalent magnetic field shielding efficiencies. The obtained results can be used when choosing the type of bonding and the technique of cable line magnetic field mitigation.

Numerical and Analytical Analysis of the Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields Generated by Three-Phase Underground Power Cables with Solid Bonding

There is a special concern for measuring and simulating low-frequency magnetic fields generated by underground power cables, particularly in human exposure studies. In the present study, an accurate 2D finite element model for computing magnetic fields generated by three-phase underground power cables with solid bonding is proposed. The model is developed in ANSYS Maxwell 2D low-frequency electromagnetic field simulation software for a typical 12/20 kV (medium-voltage) three-phase underground power cable in both trefoil and flat formations, but it can be adapted to any cable system. Model validation is achieved by analytical computations conducted with a software tool based on the Biot–Savart law and the superposition principle. RMS magnetic flux density profiles calculated at various heights above the ground with these two methods correlate very well. This is also true for induced shield currents. The application of the finite element model to multiple three-phase power cables laid together is also considered.

Wide-Frequency Range Voltage Monitoring Device for Current Transformer

To optimize the online voltage monitoring technology of the power grid and realize real-time fault warning for the power grid and capacitive devices such as current transformers (CT), this paper proposes a wide-frequency range voltage monitoring method based on current transformers according to the idea of measuring the leakage current of capacitive devices to restore the line voltage. The method measures the current transformer leakage current to invert the bus voltage and uses a wide frequency range current sensor to meet the measurement of high-frequency waveforms. This paper designs a CT wide-frequency range voltage monitoring device based on this method and conducts field tests of the device’s measurement effects. Through the fault monitoring test and voltage monitoring test, it is verified that the monitoring device is fully functional and can achieve accurate monitoring of harmonics, end shield current, relative dielectric loss, high-frequency partial discharge, and bus-voltage with high amplitude and high frequency, which can provide support for fault analysis and insulation design improvement and is of great significance to ensure safe and stable operation of the power grid.

Caterpillar traps: A highly flexible, distributed system oftoroidal cable traps.

Coil arrays are connected to the main MRI system with long, shielded coaxial cables. RF coupling of these cables to the main transmit coil can cause high shield currents, which pose risks of heating and RF burns. High-blocking resonant RF traps are placed at distinct positions along cables to mitigate these currents. Traditional traps are designed to be stiff to avoid changes in their resonant frequency, hindering the overall system flexibility. Instead of using a few high-blocking traps, we propose the use of caterpillar traps-a distributed system of small, elastic traps that cover the full length of cables. We leverage an array of resonant toroids as traps, forming a caterpillar-like structure whereby bending only impacts individual traps minimally. Benchtop measurements are used to determine the blocking of caterpillar traps and show their robustness to bending. We also compare an anterior array system cable covered with caterpillar traps to a commercial cable with B1 + and heating measurements. Benchtop experiments with caterpillar traps demonstrate high robustness to bending. B1 + mapping experiments of an anterior array cable show improved blocking and flexibility compared to a commercial cable. Caterpillar traps provide sufficient attenuation to shield currents while allowing cable flexibility. Our distributed design can provide high blocking efficiency at different positions and orientations, even in cases where commercial cable traps cannot.

Flux penetration of an HTS coated-conductor tape by an approaching permanent magnet

Interactions between inhomogeneous magnetic fields and a superconductor lie at the heart of several high-temperature superconducting (HTS) devices. An example is the situation where the magnetic field from a small permanent magnet (PM) is applied to a coated-conductor HTS tape, such that flux penetrates the superconductor. The PM field is highly spatially inhomogeneous, such that there is significant variation in the applied field magnitude and direction across the tape. This leads to a varying local critical current density, Jc(B , θ ), across the tape, and consequently different ‘shielding’ (magnetic flux penetration) behaviour than is the case for a uniform applied field. Here, we report results from measurements and numerical simulations of the penetrating magnetic field within an HTS coated-conductor tape which occur as a PM dipole approaches from a distance. Electromagnetic simulations were performed using a finite-element model based on the H -formulation, and which incorporated experimentally-measured anisotropic Jc(B , θ ) properties from a coated-conductor tape. This showed good agreement with experimental measurements. The effects of varying key modelling assumptions and parameters were then studied, including changing the widths of the PM and HTS tape and the magnitude of Jc(B , θ ). The inhomogeneity of the PM field leads to a characteristic gull-wing distribution of magnetic flux across the superconductor at elevated applied fields. Close approach of the PM to the tape suppresses Jc in the centre of the tape, and this results in the observation of a characteristic maxima for the total shielding currents circulating in the tape. A figure of merit is introduced which uses this effect to provide a threshold definition for ‘full flux penetration’ of an HTS tape by an inhomogeneous dipole field.

Iterative approach to linear ideal MHD modeling of plasma response to 3D magnetic perturbations in tokamaks

The class of plasma instabilities known as edge-localized modes (ELMs) is of special concern in tokamaks operating in high-confinement mode, such as ASDEX Upgrade and ITER. One strategy for ELM mitigation is the application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) via external coils. Kinetic modeling accurately describes the plasma response to these RMPs ab initio, particularly the parallel shielding currents at resonant surfaces. Away from resonant surfaces, ideal magnetohydrodynamics (iMHD) is expected to yield sufficiently accurate results, providing a computationally less expensive option that could complement kinetic modeling.The code MEPHIT has been developed to solve the linearized iMHD equations in a way that is compatible with iterative kinetic modeling approaches. We consider an axisymmetric iMHD equilibrium in realistic tokamak geometry under the influence of a quasi-static non-axisymmetric external perturbation from ELM mitigation coils. The plasma responds to this external magnetic perturbation with a current perturbation, which in turn produces a magnetic field perturbation. The resulting fixed-point equation can be solved in a self-consistent manner by preconditioned iterations in which Ampère’s equation and the magnetic differential equations for pressure and current are solved in alternation until convergence is reached. After expansion in toroidal Fourier harmonics, these equations are solved on a triangular mesh in the poloidal plane using finite elements. These results are then benchmarked against established codes.

Transmission Line Modeling and Crosstalk Analysis of Multibraided Shielded TWP/Twinax Cables

In this article, the transmission line model of multibraided shielded cables is improved by including the proximity effect in the shield model. This is performed by deriving the analytical expressions of the transfer impedance and admittance of a shielded structure with nonuniform current distribution around the shield surfaces. After that, the formulations are generalized to be applicable for shielded twisted-wire pair (TWP) and twinax cables with line apertures and braided structure with nonuniform shield current. It is found that the nonuniform distribution of the currents in the outer and inner shield surfaces have high effects on the inner induced common-mode and differential-mode currents of braided shielded cables. In addition, the crosstalk between multishielded TWP and twinax cables is investigated in detail, indicating that the proximity effects between the shields have a critical impact on generating the crosstalk between the shielded cables. The proposed model is validated with the commercial software FEKO and excellent agreements are achieved.

Efficient PEEC Computation of Losses and Currents in Shields of Round Wires in Submarine Tripolar Cables

A partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) formulation is applied to compute Joule losses and currents in the wires composing the shields of the phase conductors in a submarine tripolar cable. In order to model the infinite extent of the cable and to reduce the computational burden, symmetries of the geometry are exploited. A good agreement is obtained with brute force finite element method (FEM) simulations, with a dramatic reduction of computational times and memory requirement.

Influence of twist pitch on hysteretic losses and transport J c in overpressure processed high J c Bi-2212 round wires

Bi-2212 is the only high field, high-temperature superconductor (HTS) available in the macroscopically isotropic, multifilament high J c round wire (RW) form capable of generating high uniformity fields with minimum-screening current errors. However, the heat treatment that enables impressively high J c (4.2 K, 30 T) values that can attain ∼5000 A mm−2 also produces significant filament bonding (bridging). Filament bridging appears to significantly enhance hysteretic losses of the filaments themselves by coupling neighboring, nominally independent filaments, enabling shielding currents to flow across multiple filaments as though they were one filament of much larger diameter. Wire twisting can be employed to reduce filament-to-filament eddy current coupling losses due to induced currents flowing across the matrix, but twisting is less effective in reducing increased losses from bridging. Here, we compare the twist-pitch dependence of the losses of overpressure processed (OP) high J c Bi-2212 RWs with partially bridged filaments to those found in OP Bi-2212 RWs with discrete, not-bridged filaments. We show that filament sub-bundles in standard, partially-bridged wires that have some superconducting connections between filaments can exhibit significant coupling (much larger effective filament diameter), but twisting still reduces their hysteretic losses to values close to or below the ITER Nb3Sn wire loss specification, even though Bi-2212 wires have significantly larger J c values. Although it has been reported that twisting can reduce wire J c by damaging filaments, we found no reduction in transport J c , even for nominal twist pitches of 12 mm in 0.8 mm diameter wires. Evaluation of more-recent, higher J c Engi-Mat powder wires showed that their reduced filament bridging and improved longitudinal connectivity significantly improved transport J c and reduced the J c normalized losses, signaling that J c can be further improved without commensurate increase in losses. This important result strengthens the argument for production of high field, low loss HTS magnets made with Bi-2212 RWs.

Width-bending characteristic of REBCO HTS tape and flat-tape Rutherford-type cabling

The width-bending behaviors for a rare earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape have been investigated. It has been found experimentally that the width-bending strain of a Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (YBCO) tape does not degrade the critical current as much as is expected from the axial strain. The critical current is not directly affected by the width-bending strain but by the axial strain, which the width-bending strain generates by the Poisson effect. Since Poisson’s ratio is about 0.3, the axial strain effective on the critical current is about 30% of the width-bending strain. Therefore, the width-bending strain of even 1.5% degrades the critical current by only 15% if the REBCO layer side is bent inward. However, the critical current degraded by more than 70% when the REBCO layer is outward. The width-bending effects on the critical current have been further examined, considering Poisson’s ratio changes and the neutral plane shift of the REBCO tape substrate. Those changes would occur when the material yields due to severe width-bending. Based on the width-bending of REBCO tapes, flat-tape Rutherford-type cabling is discussed. A REBCO Rutherford-type cable can provide various advantages, especially for narrow-tape cabling. The flat-tape Rutherford-type cable has better characteristics against an electromagnetic transverse Lorentz force. Furthermore, the tape length of the cable can be approximately the same as the cable length allowing for excellent tape usage. REBCO Rutherford-type cabling will be a promising high-current, high-field cabling method using thin substrate REBCO tapes. It will be useful for AC ramp-field and pulse-field applications with low AC losses and low shield currents. It notes that the filaments in the cable are symmetrically distributed in parallel. Therefore, each filament’s inductance is uniform, and a uniform current distribution among the filaments can be obtained.

Extensive Analyses of Superconducting Cables 3D Geometry With Advanced Tomographic Examinations

In the framework of activities embedding magnet design and associated R&D activities and relying on Cable in Conduit Conductors (CICC) technology, the singularity of the concept can rise some challenges versus their modelling in operation. Indeed, CICC includes thousands of superconducting strands, twisted together under a multi-staged scheme that also includes deformation by cabling and compaction during manufacture. This causes the accurate predictability of strands position in CICC extremely difficult, while it can be a key element for modelling their performances in operation. As a matter of fact the coupling losses rely on the CICC capability to establish inter-strand shielding currents, driven by the inter-strand contacts mapping which are only accessible in prediction via accurate 3D strand trajectories geometry. Same applies for prediction of CICC mechanical properties (deformation of Nb3Sn strands) and hydraulic properties (helium coolant force-flowed between the strands), making those investigations of high added-value. In this context, INFLPR installed a new set-up dedicated to micro-tomography to examine CICCs with high resolution, and get an overall overall 3D overview regarding picture of the strands location. CEA and INFLPR further developed a post-processing method to reconstruct the strands trajectories with high accuracy. The measurement and data analysis workflow was applied to two CEA middle-size CICCs with variable void fraction from which contact statistics were issued. The obtained database was exploited to reconstruct equivalent 3D resistive network. Above applications using CICC topology database are discussed, compared to experimental AC losses database issued by CEA and interpreted considering the CEA model COLISEUM. The outcomes are discussed and subsequent guidelines for future work presented.

Application Driven Optimization of Cryogenic Current Comparators (CCC) for Beam Storage Rings

Non-destructive measurements of nA beam currents in particle beam storage rings by detecting the azimuthal magnetic field generated by moving charged particles with a Cryogenic Current Comparator (CCC) are well established. The detection of beam currents with small amplitudes with a CCC in a storage ring demands a high slew rate which is caused by the rapid change of the beam current exceeding the operational limit of the SQUID in flux-locked loop mode. Previous solutions to increase the slew rate used a LCR first-order low-pass filter were a small resistor, unfortunately, dominated the current noise of the CCC. In this work we present a novel take by adding a second resonator into the CCC which in turn allows for higher resistances of the LCR low-pass filter and therefore lower thermal current noise. A second challenge connected with this CCC approach is the residual magnetization of the highly permeable magnetic core and the resulting shielding currents in the superconducting circuits of the CCC. The timing of a storage ring in the range of minutes opens a way to reduce these DC currents using a LR high-pass filter. Using serial sub-micro ohm resistors, time constants in the hour range can be achieved to improve the stability and performance of the CCC system.

Electromagnetic field simulation of large hollow reactor

The electromagnetic interference problems of large-scale hollow reactor equipment are special and increasingly widespread. In order to thoroughly understand the electromagnetic interference of large hollow reactors on various equipment in a substation, a field test was performed near a SVC in a substation, and the electromagnetic field was explained from three aspects: the main ground network induced circulation, the secondary cable shield current, and the DC system ripple interference. Interference issues. Furthermore, a three-dimensional electromagnetic field simulation model was established for SVC and nearby areas, and the equivalence of the model was verified by comparing it with the spatial magnetic field and induced current on the site. Based on this analysis, the electromagnetic interference improvement and the effect of inductance value changes at different reactor heights were analyzed. The results show that, during normal operation of large hollow reactors, the electromagnetic interference between the nearby grounding system and the DC system has approached or exceeded its rated operating conditions. In the design, attention should be paid to the spatial location of the reactor and the ground network, the control room and the secondary screen cabinet.

Modeling and Design of Passive Shield to Limit EMF Emission and to Minimize Shield Loss in Unipolar Wireless Charging System for EV

In this paper, a detailed lumped model of the shield is developed, and an optimization method is proposed to minimize the shield loss while suppressing the emission within the standard limit. The electromagnetic emission in a wireless charging system (WCS) is a serious concern for health and safety, especially for medium- and high-power applications, where strong magnetic field propagates through a large air gap. Usually, a flat aluminum plate is used as a shield to suppress the emission outside the charging area. This field emission increases proportionally with the coil ampere turn; therefore, a much higher shield current is required to suppress the additional emission under the limit set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. In this paper, a novel hybrid shield structure is proposed to limit the electromagnetic field (EMF) emission, as well as to minimize the shield loss. The proposed shielding is evaluated on a laboratory prototype of 7-kW WCS designed for electric vehicle application. The experimental result shows that, while suppressing the EMF under the limit, the shield loss has been reduced by 21% compared to the commonly used aluminum shield.

Multi-Tuned Cable Traps for Multinuclear MRI and MRS.

The method of pole-insertion for multi-tuning cable traps was studied for multinuclear MRI and MRS applications. Relative efficiency of the different cable trap modes was studied as component values were varied and at four different magnetic field strengths. In all cases, efficiencies were compared to equivalent single-tuned designs. The multi-tuned traps were able to block shield currents at multiple frequencies with only slightly degraded efficiencies as compared to their single-tuned counterparts. As in double-tuned coil design, the cable trap effectiveness at each frequency was found to be highly dependent on the trap inductor value with larger trap inductances leading to worse efficiency at the lower frequency but better efficiency at the higher frequency. This relationship held at all field strengths examined. This work presents design guidelines for the double-tuning method that are useful when designing RF coils for multinuclear studies. The design takes up less space than using two single-tuned cable traps mounted in series as is commonly done. Triple-tuned and "floating" designs were also demonstrated as proofs-of-concept for a single field strength and showed great promise to prove similarly useful in future studies. For many applications such as when using high-density array coils, finding a space-efficient solution to eliminate common-mode currents could be of significant benefit. This multi-tuned approach provides space efficiency at a small cost in trapping efficiency.

Equivalent-Circuit Method for Analyzing Shielding Current Density in Axisymmetric HTS Film

An equivalent-circuit method is proposed for calculating the shielding current density especially for the case with an axisymmetric high-temperature superconducting (HTS) film. For this case, the behavior of the shielding current density can be expressed by an electric circuit in which shielding currents flow in multiple HTS loops. By numerically solving the circuit equation together with I-V characteristics for HTS loops, the time variation of the shielding current can be determined. On the basis of the proposed method, the accuracy of the inductive method for measuring the critical current density and the acceleration performance of the superconducting linear acceleration (SLA) system are numerically investigated. The results of computations show that, by using the inductive method, the critical current density can be estimated with an error of 5% or less. Moreover, even for the case with a single electromagnet, the SLA system has a possibility to accelerate a pellet up to over 200 m/s.