HTS Bulk Research Articles

A New Direct Magnetic Method for Determining ${\rm J}_{\rm C}$ in Bulk Superconductors From Magnetic Field Diffusion Measurements

The knowing the critical current density J <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> is important to calculate AC losses in superconducting applications. Usually can be obtained from magnetization measurements or electric measurements based on global quantities as the magnetic flux or the voltage. In this paper a quick and direct magnetic method for determining J <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> is proposed. It is based on direct measurements of local magnetic field in the gap between two bulk HTS pellets. Field penetration measurements were carried out on HTS pellets at 77 K by applying increasing axial magnetic fields with a quasi constant sweep rate. This determination of J <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> is theoretically based on Bean model. J <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> is deduced from the complete penetration magnetic field B <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">P</sub> . B <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">P</sub> is deduced from the delay T <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">P</sub> between the applied magnetic field B <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">a</sub> (t)and the magnetic field at the center between the two pellets B <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">0</sub> (t). Numerical calculations allow deducing J <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> more precisely from theoretical calculations and measurements. The numerical calculations are made with the power law E = E <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> (J/J <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> ) <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">n</sup> . For the determination of J <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</sub> the influence of the gap due to Hall probe sensor and the applied magnetic field rise rate are taken into account. The influence of thermal is also studied.

Large-scale HTS bulks for magnetic application

ATZ Company has constructed about 130 HTS magnet systems using high-Tc bulk magnets. A key feature in scaling-up is the fabrication of YBCO melts textured multi-seeded large bulks with three to eight seeds. Except of levitation, magnetization, trapped field and hysteresis, we review system engineering parameters of HTS magnetic linear and rotational bearings like compactness, cryogenics, power density, efficiency and robust construction. We examine mobile compact YBCO bulk magnet platforms cooled with LN2 and Stirling cryo-cooler for demonstrator use. Compact cryostats for Maglev train operation contain 24 pieces of 3-seed bulks and can levitate 2500–3000N at 10mm above a permanent magnet (PM) track. The effective magnetic distance of the thermally insulated bulks is 2mm only; the stored 2.5l LN2 allows more than 24h operation without refilling. 34 HTS Maglev vacuum cryostats are manufactured tested and operate in Germany, China and Brazil. The magnetic levitation load to weight ratio is more than 15, and by group assembling the HTS cryostats under vehicles up to 5t total loads levitated above a magnetic track is achieved.

Influence of Critical Current Density on Guidance Force Decay of HTS Bulk Exposed to AC Magnetic Field Perturbation in a Maglev Vehicle System

Superconducting maglev vehicle is one of the most promising applications of HTS bulks. In such a system, the HTS bulks are always exposed to AC external magnetic field, which is generated by the inhomogeneous surface magnetic field of the NdFeB guideway. In our previous work, we studied the guidance force decay of the YBCO bulk over the NdFdB guideway used in the High-temperature superconducting maglev vehicle system with the application of the AC external magnetic field, and calculated the guidance force decay as a function of time based on an analytic model. In this paper, we investigated the influence of the critical current density on the guidance force decay of HTS bulk exposed to AC field perturbation in the maglev vehicle system and try to adopt a method to suppress the decay. From the results, it was found that the guidance force decay rate was higher for the bulk with lower critical current density. Therefore, we could suppress the guidance force decay of HTS bulk exposed to AC external magnetic field perturbation in the maglev vehicle system by improving critical current density of the bulk.

Magnetic precipitate separation for Ni plating waste liquid using HTS bulk magnets

The magnetic separation experiment for recycling the nickel-bearing precipitates in the waste liquid from the electroless plating processes has been practically conducted under the high gradient magnetic separation technique with use of the face-to-face HTS bulk magnet system. A couple of facing magnetic poles containing Sm123 bulk superconductors were activated through the pulsed field magnetization process to 1.86T at 38K and 2.00T at 37K, respectively. The weakly magnetized metallic precipitates of Ni crystals and Ni–P compounds deposited from the waste solution after heating it and pH controlling. The high gradient magnetic separation technique was employed with the separation channels filled with the stainless steel balls with dimension of 1 and 3mm in diameter, which periodically moved between and out of the facing magnetic poles. The Ni-bearing precipitates were effectively attracted to the magnetized ferromagnetic balls. We have succeeded in obtaining the separation ratios over 90% under the flow rates less than 1.35L/min.

Study of damping in 5 kWh superconductor flywheel energy storage system using a piezoelectric actuator

A 5kWh superconductor flywheel energy storage system (SFES) has advantages in terms of high electrical energy density, environmental affinity and long life. However, the SFES has disadvantage that electromagnetic damper is needed because superconducting bearings do not have enough damping coefficient. The purpose of this experiment is to develop a method of damping the vibration of the SFES.A piezoelectric actuator was attached to a superconducting bearing system for feasibility test in order to make it as a damper of the SFES. For this experiment, a cylindrical permanent magnet (PM) 40mm in diameter and 10mm height was used as a rotor, a high-temperature superconductor bulk (HTS bulk) with dimensions 40mm×40mm×15mm was used as a stator, and two vibration exciters (an upper and a lower vibration exciter) and a piezoelectric actuator were used. The PM was fixed on the upper vibration exciter. The HTS bulk was fixed on either the lower vibration exciter to test for damping in the feasibility test, or on the piezoelectric actuator for the actual SFES. The conditions of this experiment included various voltage outputs of a power amplifier to the lower vibration exciter, moving distances of the piezoelectric actuator which are displacements of the HTS bulk, and phase differences between the upper and lower vibration exciter or the piezoelectric actuator.The damping feasibility test was conducted with a 300μm gap between the PM and HTS bulk with a PM vibration of 30μm. For the actual SFES test, the gap between the PM and HTS bulk was 1.6mm and the PM vibration was 25μm. The following conditions were conducted to optimize: an appropriate voltage input to the lower vibration exciter or a displacement of piezoelectric actuator and an appropriate phase difference. When the piezoelectric actuator was used, the damping effect was greatly improved up to 92.32% which a displacement of damped PM was 1.92μm.

Performance Analysis of an HTS Magnetic Suspension and Propulsion System With a Double-Sided HTS Linear Synchronous Motor

A novel HTS magnetic suspension and propulsion system driven by a double-sided HTS linear synchronous motor (HTSLSM) has been developed, which is suspended by an HTS magnetic suspension subsystem located on the bottom of the HTSLSM secondary mover. The structural design of the suspension and propulsion system is introduced, and then the magnetization characteristics of the HTS bulk magnets for the HTSLSM are studied and compared by different magnetization methods. The finite-element analysis (FEA) model of the HTSLSM is built up by using an equivalent model of the HTS bulk magnet, and the thrust characteristics of the HTSLSM are also simulated based on the FEA model, and verified by measurements on the prototype. Furthermore, the suspension performance of the HTS magnetic suspension subsystem has also been analyzed by a numerical method based on an equivalent current sheet model of the permanent-magnet guideway. The results show that the HTS magnetic suspension and propulsion system has applicable thrust and suspension performance, and can be applied to the practical applications such as a maglev.

Influence of High Harmonics of Magnetic Fields on Trapped Magnetic Fluxes in HTS Bulk

Abstract Various kinds of HTS bulk motors are proposed and have been developed. Generally, those motors are driven by semiconductor inverters and currents fed to the armature windings contain high harmonics. Therefore, the bulks are exposed to high harmonics magnetic fields and AC losses are produced in the bulks. The AC losses deteriorate the efficiency of the motors and cause temperature rise of the bulks which decrease the trapped magnetic fluxes of the bulks. Usually, electro-magnetic shielding devices are inserted between the bulks and armature windings. However, the shielding devices degrade compactness of the motors. Therefore, it is important to have knowledge of the influence of the high harmonics magnetic fields on the AC losses and trapped magnetic fluxes of the bulk for optimum design of the shielding devices. In this work, the authors experimentally study the influence of high harmonics magnetic fields.

Magnetizing technique for permanent magnets by intense static fields generated by HTS bulk magnets: Numerical Analysis

Abstract A demagnetized Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet was scanned in the strong magnetic field space just above the magnetic pole containing a HTS bulk magnet which generates the magnetic field 3.4 T. The magnet sample was subsequently found to be fully magnetized in the open space of the static magnetic fields. The finite element method was carried out for the static field magnetization of a permanent magnet using a HTS bulk magnet. Previously, our research group experimentally demonstrated the possibility of full magnetization of rare earth permanent magnets with high-performance magnetic properties with use of the static field of HTS bulk magnets. In the present study, however, we succeeded for the first time in visualizing the behavior of the magnetizing field of the bulk magnet during the magnetization process and the shape of the magnetic field inside the body being magnetized. By applying this kind of numerical analysis to the magnetization for planned motor rotors which incorporate rare-earth permanent magnets, we hope to study the fully magnetized regions for the new magnetizing method using bulk magnets and to give motor designing a high degree of freedom.

Recent Progress in HTS Bulk Technology and Performance at NSC

Abstract This paper describes the current status of large single-grained RE-Ba-Cu-O (where RE: Y or rare earth elements) bulk superconductors with excellent superconducting properties in Nippon Steel Corporation. Intensive research on RE-Ba-Cu-O revealed that the optimal RE element is different for application requirements. While Gd-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors are greatly attractive for almost all bulk applications, Eu-Ba-Cu-O is suitable for compact NMR/MRI and Dy-Ba-Cu-O for current leads. In addition, single-domain bulk superconductors have been grown up to 150 mm in diameter by incorporating the RE compositional gradient method. Furthermore, progress of machining technology enables to obtain various complicated shapes of bulk superconductors.

Bulk Superconductors in Mobile Application

Abstract We investigate and review concepts of multi – seeded REBCO bulk superconductors in mobile application. ATZ's compact HTS bulk magnets can trap routinely 1 T@77 K. Except of magnetization, flux creep and hysteresis, industrial – like properties as compactness, power density, and robustness are of major device interest if mobility and light-weight construction is in focus. For mobile application in levitated trains or demonstrator magnets we examine the performance of on-board cryogenics either by LN2 or cryo-cooler application. The mechanical, electric and thermodynamical requirements of compact vacuum cryostats for Maglev train operation were studied systematically. More than 30 units are manufactured and tested. The attractive load to weight ratio is more than 10 and favours group module device constructions up to 5 t load on permanent magnet (PM) track. A transportable and compact YBCO bulk magnet cooled with in-situ 4 Watt Stirling cryo-cooler for 50 – 80 K operation is investigated. Low cooling power and effective HTS cold mass drives the system construction to a minimum – thermal loss and light-weight design.

高温超伝導バルク磁石を用いた埋込構造永久磁石同期機の永久磁石の着磁実験及び数値解析

高温超伝導バルク磁石を用いた埋込構造永久磁石同期機の永久磁石の着磁実験及び数値解析

Magnetizing of permanent magnets using HTS bulk magnets

A demagnetized Nd–Fe–B permanent magnet was scanned just above the magnetic pole which contains the HTS bulk magnet generating a magnetic field of 3.27 T. The magnet sample was subsequently found to be fully magnetized in the open space of the static magnetic fields. We examined the magnetic field distributions when the magnetic poles were scanned twice to activate the magnet plate inversely with various overlap distances between the tracks of the bulk magnet. The magnetic field of the “rewritten” magnet reached the values of the magnetically saturated region of the material, showing steep gradients at the border of each magnetic pole. As a replacement for conventional pulse field magnetizing methods, this technique is proposed to expand the degree of freedom in the design of electromagnetic devices, and is proposed as a novel practical method for magnetizing rare-earth magnets, which have excellent magnetic performance and require intense fields of more than 3 T to be activated.

Study on Method to Suppress Decay of Trapped Magnetic Fluxes in the HTS Bulk Subjected to Perturbation of External Magnetic Field by Use of Shielding Coil Wound of HTS Wire

Trapped magnetic fluxes in HTS bulks are decayed when the bulks are subjected to perturbation of external magnetic fields. In HTS bulk apparatuses such as HTS bulk motors and magnetic levitation bearings, there is a possibility that the trapped magnetic fluxes in the bulks disappear because the bulks are inevitably subjected to perturbations of the external magnetic fields. For those apparatuses to work stably and reliably, it is necessary to develop methods to suppress the decay. It was shown in our previous experiments that the decay is caused by temperature rises of the bulks due to AC losses in the bulks. The authors proposed a method to put a shorted shielding coil wound of HTS wire around the bulk aiming at reduction of the AC losses in the bulk. It was experimentally shown by use of a shielding coil wound of Bi/Ag sheathed wire that the decay of the trapped magnetic flux was effectively suppressed. In this paper, shielding performance of the coil wound of GdBCO wire was experimentally investigated comparing with that of the coil wound of Bi/Ag sheathed wire. AC losses in the bulks and shielding coils are calculated for various arrangements of the shielding coil to find a preferable shielding coil arrangement from stand points of shielding performance and reduction of AC losses.

Enhancement of the Critical Current Densities and Trapped Flux of Gd-Ba-Cu-O Bulk HTS Doped With Magnetic Particles

For bulk HTS rotating machines, enhancement of the trapped flux is a crucial task to achieve practical applications with high torque density. The increase of critical current density <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">J</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> using artificial pinning centers is an efficient technique for the enhancement of the flux trapping properties. We attempted to enhance both <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">J</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> and the trapped flux in bulk HTS with magnetic/ferromagnetic particles additions. Fe-B-Si-Nb-Cr-Cu amorphous alloy, Fe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> and CoO particles were introduced into the Gd123 matrix. The melt growth of the single-domain bulks with different magnetic particles was performed in air. Enhancement of the critical current density <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">J</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> at 77 K was derived in the bulks with Fe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> and Fe-B-Si-Nb-Cr-Cu additions, while the superconducting transition temperature of 93 K was not degraded significantly. The experiment of the magnetic flux trapping was then conducted under static magnetic field magnetization with liquid nitrogen cooling. In the bulk with 0.4 mol% of Fe-B-Si-Nb-Cr-Cu, the integrated trapped flux exceeds over 35% compared to the one without magnetic particle addition. On the other hand, the addition of CoO particles resulted in a reduction of both <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">J</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> and trapped magnetic flux. Present results indicate that the introduction of magnetic particles gives a significant effect to the flux pinning performance.

Development of a Cryogenic Helium-Neon Gas Mixture Cooling System for Use in a Gd-Bulk HTS Synchronous Motor

Temperature Superconductors (HTS) applied to rotating machines require an efficient cooling system. It is necessary to increase the maximum trapped flux density in the bulk HTS magnets and decrease the overall cooling time. In this paper, we added a gaseous helium phase to a condensed-neon closed-cycle thermosyphon. The latent heat of neon-film cooling is combined with helium's high thermal conductivity. Different mixture proportions were evaluated in terms of resistance to variable heat loads. More helium decreased the temperature variation of the evaporator. The mixture was then used to cool down a 30 kW-grade gadolinium-bulk HTS synchronous motor. The eight bulk HTS conductors of the rotor were cooled to 40 K in less than six hours. The application of this thermosyphon is envisioned for larger rotating machines.

Influence of AC Magnetic Field on a Rotating Machine With Gd-Bulk HTS Field-Pole Magnets

A synchronous rotation study with eight field rotor pole of Gd123 bulks was performed with the axial-type motor. The field pole of Gd123 packs with and without doped amorphous magnetic particles Fe-B-Si-Nb-Cr-Cu (MP) were employed. Before and after the synchronous operation, the change of the trapped magnetic flux on the bulk was investigated at the operating temperature of 40 K. The observed decay of the trapped integrated flux on the surface of Gd123 packs after 5 hours synchronous rotation were 7.2% for the Gd123 pack without MP doping and 4.1% for the Gd123 bulk doped with MP. The present result indicates that the lowering operation temperature may be beneficial to avoid the AC loss. This also leads to another complementally conclusion that the employment of the condensed neon gas cooling system is a suitable choice from the viewpoint of practical applications of the HTS bulks in contrast to liquid nitrogen cooling. In addition, the Gd123 doped with MP alloy particles provide a practical magnetic flux trapping function at 40 K.

Pulsed Field Magnetization of a High Temperature Superconducting Motor

As we known, the high temperature (77 K) superconducting (HTS) motor is considered as a competitive electrical machine by more and more people. There have been various of designs for HTS motor in the world. However, most of them focus on HTS tapes rather than bulks. Therefore, in order to investigate possibility of HTS bulks on motor application, a HTS magnet synchronous motor which has 75 pieces of YBCO bulks surface mounted on the rotor has been designed and developed in Cambridge University. After pulsed field magnetization (PFM) process, the rotor can trap a 4 poles magnetic field of 375 mT. The magnetized rotor can provide a maximum torque of 49.5 Nm and a maximum power of 7.8 kW at 1500 rpm.

Evaluation of Positional Stability in Active Magnetic Levitation Using Spherical HTS Bulk for Inertial Nuclear Fusion

Fuel supply is a fundamental issue in application of inertial nuclear fusion. To address this issue, we propose the use of an HTS superconductor capsule containing nuclear fuel, which can levitate in a magnetic field. During magnetic levitation, positional stability is important because it affects levitation accuracy to the focal point of giant lasers. We have developed a numerical simulation program based on a 3-D hybrid finite element and boundary element method to evaluate positional stability during magnetic levitation. Moreover, we have optimally designed and constructed a multi-coil system wherein spherical HTS bulk of 5 mm diameter can levitate stably. Finally, we have conducted the experiments for the evaluation of magnetic levitation, and compared the results with our simulation.

Drug accumulation by means of noninvasive magnetic drug delivery system

The medication is one of the most general treatment methods, but drugs diffuse in the normal tissues other than the target part by the blood circulation. Therefore, side effect in the medication, particularly for a drug with strong effect such as anti-cancer drug, are a serious issue. Drug Delivery System (DDS) which accumulates the drug locally in the human body is one of the techniques to solve the side-effects. Magnetic Drug Delivery System (MDDS) is one of the active DDSs, which uses the magnetic force. The objective of this study is to accumulate the ferromagnetic drugs noninvasively in the deep part of the body by using MDDS. It is necessary to generate high magnetic field and magnetic gradient at the target part to reduce the side-effects to the tissues with no diseases. The biomimetic model was composed, which consists of multiple model organs connected with diverged blood vessel model. The arrangement of magnetic field was examined to accumulate ferromagnetic drug particles in the target model organ by using a superconducting bulk magnet which can generate high magnetic fields. The arrangement of magnet was designed to generate high and stable magnetic field at the target model organ. The accumulation experiment of ferromagnetic particles has been conducted. In this study, rotating HTS bulk magnet around the axis of blood vessels by centering on the target part was suggested, and the model experiment for magnet rotation was conducted. As a result, the accumulation of the ferromagnetic particles to the target model organ in the deep part was confirmed.

A new structure for a magnetic field concentrator using NbTi sheet superconductors

The magnetic lens, a new device for concentrating magnetic flux using the diamagnetism of superconductors, has been experimentally confirmed by employing HTS bulk. In this paper, a new magnetic lens made of NbTi/Cu rings is introduced. The rings, which have identical outer diameters and increasing inner diameters, were stacked to form a hollow cone. Each ring has a slit to suppress the circumference current. The slits were placed in the same position to form a leakage path. The lens was assembled in an existing cryostat system with a NbTi magnet, and the magnetic properties were measured. The concentrated magnetic flux density rose to 0.618T when the background field reached 0.339T at the tip of the lens. The concentration ratio was 1.82. These experimental results agree well with the numerical results.