REBCO Pancake Coils Research Articles

Numerical Investigation of Metal Insulation Technique on Turn-to-Turn Contact Resistance of REBCO Pancake Coils

No-insulation (NI) REBCO pancake coils show high thermal stability, however the charging delay is an issue. Hence, to improve the charging delay, it was proposed that a stainless steel (SUS) tape was cowound between turns, called “metal-as-insulation” or “metal-insulation (MI),” to increase the turn-to-turn contact resistivity. The MI technique could make the turn-to-turn contact resistivity approximately 50 times large compared to a conventional NI REBCO pancake coil. This paper reports a bypass current behavior on the cross section of MI REBCO pancake coil using two-dimensional finite element method. The influence of the SUS tape thickness, the MI material, and the number of SUS tapes on the turn-to-turn contact resistivity is investigated. As the result, it is clarified that the turn-to-turn contact resistivity strongly depends on the surface condition and number of SUS tapes.

Current Behavior Simulation in Stacked NI REBCO Pancake Coils During Local Normal-State Transition

This paper presents the current behavior and axial Lorenz force of stacked no-insulation (NI) REBa2Cu3O7-x (REBCO, RE = Rare Earth) double-pancake coils during local normal-state transition. The NI winding technique enhances the thermal stability and increases the engineering current density in REBCO pancake coils. The high thermal stability of NI REBCO coil has been verified in experiments of overcurrent test. In addition, the numerical simulations of NI REBCO single-pancake coils have been performed to confirm the high stability. However, REBCO magnets usually consist of some stacked double-pancake coils to generate a high magnetic field for practical applications. When a normal-state transition occurs in one of the stacked pancake coils, it may affect the other pancake coils. For the more reliable verification, the current and electromagnetic force behavior of stacked NI REBCO pancake coils during a normal-state transition should be simulated. To examine the stacked NI REBCO pancake coils, we extend the previously proposed partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) model to deal with a few double-pancake coils. In this paper, an NI REBCO double-pancake coil and their three stacked coils are simulated by using the extended PEEC model.

Influence of the Turn-to-Turn Contact Electrical Resistance on the Thermal Stability in Meter-Class No-Insulation REBCO Pancake Coils During a Local Normal-State Transition

In magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance applications, it is important that the high-temperature superconducting coils provide a high magnetic field in a miniaturized form factor. Our research group considers these requirements to be compatible with no-insulation (NI) coils in which the thickness of the Cu stabilization layer and the turn-to-turn contact electrical resistance are key parameters that enable both high current densities and high thermal stabilities. When the Cu stabilization layer is thin, the current density is impaired, but the thermal stability is improved. If the turn-to-turn contact electrical resistance is very large, then the characteristics of the NI REBCO coil approach the characteristics of conventional insulated coils, and the thermal stability may be degraded. However, when the turn-to-turn contact electrical resistance is large, the excitation delay time is reduced. In this study, we used a combination of the partial element equivalent circuit method and the finite element method to perform a current distribution and thermal analysis of the behavior of NI REBCO coils when a local normal-state transition occurs. We also considered the appropriate turn-to-turn contact electrical resistance that could shorten the excitation delay time as much as possible while still suppressing the formation of hotspots, which is a disadvantage of the NI REBCO coil.

Detection Method for a Local Normal-State Transition in a No-Insulation REBCO Pancake Coil

In this paper, we have proposed a detection method for detecting and locating a local normal-state transition in a meter-class no-insulation (NI) coil that is deployed in next-generation high-field magnetic resonance imaging scanners (MRIs), using a copper pickup coil. There are two schemes for detecting and locating the normal zone: one is a ring pickup coil assembled on the midplane of a central bore and the other consists of several sector pickup coils deployed on the coil winding, namely “scanning pickup coil.” To verify the effectiveness of these detection methods, we performed a numerical simulation coupling consisting of a partial element equivalent circuit, a thermal analysis, and a magnetic field analysis. Based on the results of analyses, we reproduced the distributions of the temporal variations of the magnetic flux in the central bore and on the coil winding of the meter-class NI coil, and discussed the effectiveness of these pickup coil schemes for detecting and locating a local normal-state transition in a meter-class NI coil used in next-generation high-field MRIs.

Numerical Evaluation of the Reinforcing Effect of the Advanced YOROI Coil Structure for the HTS Coil

REBCO coils applied to superconducting magnetic energy storage system, magnetic resonance imaging, medical accelerator, and so on, are expected to result in high efficiency and compactness due to the realization of higher magnetic field and current density. Because these devices require large coil radius, huge hoop stress “BJR” (= magnetic field × current density × coil radius) is produced in the coil winding and the damage to these devices is likely to cause. In our previous study, we proposed a novel coil structure called the Y-based oxide superconductor and reinforcing outer integrated (YOROI) structure to achieve a high-strength REBCO pancake coil. The YOROI structure comprises upper and lower plates and the outer frame of the winding outer periphery. The frames are forcibly expanded by the superconducting coil winding situated inside when the coil winding is subjected to an electromagnetic force. The outer frame is connected to the upper and lower plates and transfers a part of the electromagnetic force from the coil winding to the reinforcing outer plates. The reinforcing outer plates then support the coil to suppress the coil deformation against the electromagnetic forces. The YOROI structure achieved the resistance to a maximum hoop stress of 2 GPa, which was calculated from the BJR in an excitation test at 4.2 K in 8-T backup fields. In this study, we investigated the effect of the stress control structure to realize the HTS coil with a mechanical strength of over 2 GPa using a three-dimensional finite-element structural analysis.

A REBCO Persistent-Current Switch (PCS): Test Results and Switch Heater Performance.

In this paper, we report preliminary results of our on-going effort to develop a superconducting persistent-current switch (PCS) for REBCO pancake coils that will be operated in liquid helium. In the first part of this paper, we briefly describe experimental results of our PCS operated in the temperature range 77-57 K, i.e., liquid-and solid-nitrogen environments. The rest we devote to a new PCS heater design in which we target a heating power of < 1 W in liquid helium.

Evaluation on Quench Protection for No-Insulation REBCO Pancake Coil

We have been developing a no-insulation (NI) winding technique to be used in both high thermal stability and high current density, which have a tradeoff relationship. This paper presents numerical and experimental studies on the thermal stability of an NI REBCO pancake coil by focusing on a quench protection scheme. In the case of an accident or a local normal-state transition, the power supply for the superconducting coil must be immediately shut down in order to ensure its safety. During the sudden discharging of a conventional insulated winding coil, most of the stored electromagnetic energy is dissipated by an external dump resistor connected across the coil terminals as a quench protection system. However, in an NI pancake coil, current flows in the radial direction in order to bypass the local normal-state area to the adjacent turns. The stored energy in the coil may be dissipated as Joule heat owing to the turn-to-turn contact electrical resistance. In this study, by using experiments and numerical analyses, we evaluated two transient behaviors during sudden discharging: the distribution of energy dissipation and the temperature increase in model NI REBCO pancake coils. We also evaluated the thermal behavior of the NI coil during a local normal transition.

R&amp;D Project on HTS Magnets for Ultrahigh-Field MRI Systems

An RD $\text{RE}=\text{rare earth}$ ) wires for ultrahigh-field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems is described. Our targets are 9.4-T MRI systems for whole-body imaging and brain imaging. REBCO wires are promising components for UHF-MRI because REBCO wires have high critical current density in high magnetic fields and high strength against hoop stresses, which allows MRI magnets to be smaller and lighter than conventional ones. The aim of the project is to establish basic magnet technologies for adapting REBCO coils for UHF-MRI. The project term is three years, and this year is the final year. We have already demonstrated the generation of an 8.27-T magnetic field with a small test coil composed of 22 REBCO pancake coils. A magnetic field spatial distribution with inhomogeneity of several hundreds of parts per million within 100-mm diameter spherical volume (DSV) was demonstrated with a 1-T model magnet. A stable magnetic field of a few parts per million per hour was also demonstrated with the 1-T model magnet. The targets of the project, to be achieved by March 2016, are to demonstrate the generation of a 9.4-T field with the small REBCO coil, and to demonstrate a homogeneous magnetic field in 200-mm DSV with a 1.5-T magnet having three pairs of split coils. Imaging will be performed with the 1.5-T magnet.

Influence of turn-to-turn resistivity and coil geometrical size on charging characteristics of no-electrical-insulation REBCO pancake coils

High temperature superconductor (HTS) no-electrical-insulation (NEI) coils demonstrate great advantages in thermal stability and self-protection features. However, an intrinsic delay is observed in the charging process and as a result there maybe a possible settle-out problem. It becomes more critical for large HTS coils with more turns, such as the magnets for the accelerator system and DC induction heater applications. This paper presents detailed studies on the charging characteristics of NEI coils. Firstly, two different no-electrical-insulation coils are wound: the first is directly wound using only REBCO tapes with brass lamination, which is called a no-insulation (NI) coil. The other one is co-wound with stainless steel (SS) strips and REBCO tapes whose copper stabilizer is electroplated, which is called a metallic insulation (MI) coil. Fast discharging tests are performed on the two coils and their equivalent turn-to-turn resistivity is calculated. A similar discharging delay is observed on both coils, but the turn-to-turn resistivity of the SS co-wound coil is much higher than that of the first coil. Then the resistivity data is directly applied to an equivalent circuit network model which is developed to predict the charging behaviours. The model calculates coil voltage, currents along the azimuthal and radial directions, as well as the induced magnetic field. A practical charging time is defined to characterize the field ramping process considering the charging delay between field ramping and current charging. The charging behaviours are extensively analyzed and compared in terms of three primary factors: equivalent turn-to-turn resistivity, coil size and ramping rate. The results show that the charging time increases dramatically with the coil size and may be too long to be practical for large-scale applications using HTS coils with low turn-to-turn resistivity. Increasing the turn-to-turn resistivity enables one to accelerate the charging process effectively. Therefore, the SS co-wound coil with higher turn-to-turn resistivity shows a much shorter charging time, which indicates that it may be more suitable for large-scale HTS magnets.

Experiment and Simulation of Impregnated No-Insulation REBCO Pancake Coil

It is important to investigate the stability and behavior of an epoxy-resin-impregnated no-insulation (NI) REBCO pancake coil to implement high-field applications, such as ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging. We have performed sudden discharging and overcurrent tests for the impregnated NI REBCO pancake coil. From the discharging test, the contact resistivity is estimated, and it changes depending on the initial current. From the overcurrent test, the high thermal stability of the impregnated NI REBCO pancake coil is confirmed. The REBCO pancake coil is charged up to 67 A though the critical current is only 46 A, and no degradation has been found. To investigate in detail the electromagnetic behavior of an impregnated NI REBCO pancake coil, the simulation is performed by means of the partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) model. In the sudden discharging test, the simulation results for the case of lower initial current are in good agreement with the experimental data. As can be inferred from the simulation results, the current drastically decreases from the inside of the impregnated NI REBCO pancake coil. The result of the overcurrent simulation is almost identical to the experimental one. However, since the contact resistivity is presumed to be constant in the simulation, the difference is observed in the high current region.

Transient Behaviors of No-Insulation REBCO Pancake Coil During Local Normal-State Transition

Recently, no-insulation (NI) winding techniques have been proposed for achieving high current density and high thermal stability. To verify the excellent characteristics achieved using these techniques, we investigated the transient behaviors of NI REBCO pancake coils. In this paper, we evaluate transient electromagnetic and thermal behaviors during a local normal-state transition, based on a partial element equivalent circuit and thermal coupled numerical analysis. Moreover, we investigate temporal and spatial current distributions in the NI coil winding after a local normal transition occurs. We also clarify the reason for the suppression of temperature increase caused by the local normal-state transition in the NI winding. Subsequently, we evaluate the influence of the thickness of a Cu stabilizer on the thermal stability of the NI and conventional insulation windings. Finally, we discuss the mechanism of high thermal stability attained in the NI coil winding technique.

Investigation of Current Flow Between Turns of NI REBCO Pancake Coil by 2-D Finite-Element Method

The no-insulation (NI) winding technique for an NI ReBCO pancake coil is expected to improve dynamic and thermal stability and enhance current density. The investigations on electromagnetic and thermal behaviors are important for the development of NI ReBCO coils. Many stability investigations of the NI ReBCO coil itself have been carried out by experiments and simulations. However, the detailed behavior of the bypass current between turns has not been shown. Although contact resistivity was obtained through prior experiment, it included the resistivity of not only contact surface but also the components, i.e., the copper stabilizer and the Hastelloy substrate, of a ReBCO tape. To investigate the detailed bypass current behavior in this paper, the true contact surface resistivity is taken into account in the simulation. The bypass current on the cross section of the NI ReBCO tape is simulated using the two-dimensional finite-element method. From the simulation results, the influence of the coil-radial resistivity between turns on the turn-to-turn contact surface resistivity is clarified. In addition, the heat loss is also reported, and a simple equivalent circuit of the turn-to-turn contact is proposed.

Analytical and experimental investigation of electrical characteristics of a metallic insulation GdBCO coil.

This paper presents results, experimental and analytical, of the electrical characteristics of GdBCO single-pancake coils co-wound with a brass tape as metallic insulation (MI coil). The GdBCO pancakes were subjected to sudden discharge, charge-discharge, and over-current tests. The sudden discharge and charge-discharge test results of the MI coil demonstrated that MI coils can be charged and discharged significantly faster than non-insulated coils that are wound only with GdBCO tape. In over-current tests at 150 A (1.25I(c)), the MI coil exhibited better electrical behavior, i.e., self-protecting features, than its counterpart co-wound with Kapton tape, an insulator. Moreover, the experimental and analytical results are in agreement, validating the use of a concise equivalent parallel-RL circuit model for the MI coil to characterize its electrical behavior. Overall, the MI winding technique is highly promising to help build compact, mechanically robust, and self-protecting magnets composed of REBCO pancake coils. With no organic material in the winding, MI REBCO pancakes will be immune to neutron radiation damage, making the MI winding technique a viable option for fusion reactors, such as for toroidal field, poroidal field magnets, and central solenoid.

A (RE)BCO Pancake Winding With Metal-as-Insulation.

In this paper, we report preliminary experimental results on protection study of two REBCO pancake coils based on the metal-as-insulation (MI) winding technique, a variant of the no-insulation (NI) winding technique, in which a metallic tape is cowound. Against the more-proven NI technique, our results demonstrate that the MI technique, too, is quite viable for HTS pancake coils with the following features: 1) nearly self-protecting;2) significantly smaller charging-delay time constant; and 3) better control of coil parameters. It also permits stable operation at 97% of a quench current. We present 77-K results of NI and MI pancakes: first, comparing the advantages and drawbacks of the two winding techniques and, second, dealing with stability and quench parameters. Finally, using a simple circuit model, we quantitatively show that metallic tape thickness has little detrimental effect on the self-protecting feature of the MI pancakes.

Charging Behavior in No-Insulation REBCO Pancake Coils

This paper presents analytical studies on the charging characteristics of a no-insulation (NI) REBCO pancake coil. A partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) model has been developed to evaluate the local current paths in NI REBCO pancake coils. The PEEC model is able to consider the asymmetry of the coil winding, the partial turn-to-turn contact electrical resistance, and the partial self and mutual inductances. The analysis results are compared with previous charging experimental results and simulations using a simplified parallel equivalent circuit (SPEC) model to validate the proposed approach with the PEEC model. To investigate the charging characteristics of a meter-class NI REBCO pancake coil, numerical simulations were performed by using the PEEC and SPEC models as a parameter of the turn-to-turn contact electrical resistance. In addition, the magnetic field in a 3-T NI REBCO coil was calculated by the SPEC model to clarify the charging delay of a practical scale magnet.

AC Losses of ReBCO Pancake Coils Measured by a Calorimetric Method

During a field ramp of a ReBCO magnet, the heat dissipated by conductor AC losses may affect the magnet operation temperature, and significantly increase the liquid helium consumption. Therefore, the calculation and measurement of AC losses of ReBCO coils are very important. Understanding the AC losses behavior of ReBCO coils will allow prediction of AC losses for future ReBCO magnets.

Analyses of Transient Behaviors of No-Insulation REBCO Pancake Coils During Sudden Discharging and Overcurrent.

Stability margin of a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil is two or three orders of magnitude greater than that of a low-temperature superconducting coil. In recent years, many papers have reported test results of turn-to-turn no-insulation (NI) HTS coils having extremely enhanced thermal stability, such that burnout never occurs in an NI coil, even at an operating current exceeding 2.5 times the critical current. Thus, The main goal of this paper is to clarify transient electromagnetic and thermal behaviors and mechanism of the high thermal stability in an NI REBCO coil. A partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) model is proposed for the numerical simulation of an NI REBCO coil, which considers a local electrical contact resistance between turns, an I-V characteristic of an REBCO tape, and local self and mutual inductances of the NI REBCO coil. Using the PEEC model, we investigate the influence of the turn-to-turn contact resistance on the transient behavior of the NI REBCO coil during sudden discharging. We also perform thermal conduction analyses with the PEEC model to clarify the transient behavior of an NI REBCO coil during an overcurrent operation.

Delamination Strengths of Different Types of REBCO-Coated Conductors and Method for Reducing Radial Thermal Stresses of Impregnated REBCO Pancake Coils

An impregnated pancake coil is composed of a REBa <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> Cu <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">7-δ</sub> (REBCO)-coated conductor, a polyimide tape, and epoxy resin, so that a radial thermal stress is generated in the winding by their anisotropic thermal contraction when the coil is cooled from room temperature to 77 K or less. If this radial stress locally exceeds the delamination strength of the REBCO-coated conductor under transverse tensile stress, the coil will be degraded. Although it is important to determine the exact delamination strength of the REBCO-coated conductor to fabricate an impregnated coil that does not suffer from degradation, the delamination strengths reported until now have shown considerable variation due to the evaluation methods used. Therefore, we propose a new method for evaluating the delamination strength using small epoxy impregnated test coils, since the radial stress depends on the ratio of inner to outer diameters regardless of the coil size. The delamination strength can be obtained by investigating the ratios of inner to outer diameters that do not result in degradation. In this paper, the delamination strengths of three types of REBCO-coated conductors made with different manufacturing processes and having different configurations were evaluated. This method showed that a conductor laminated with copper plates had higher delamination strength than the other two kinds of conductors. In addition, impregnated single pancake coils whose inner diameter was 50 mm and whose outer diameter was 100 mm were fabricated using the three types of REBCO-coated conductors. Degradation was avoided in all coils by dividing the coils into a number of winding parts in the radial direction according to the delamination strength of the conductors.

Development of Non-Circular REBCO Pancake Coil for High-Temperature Superconducting Cyclotron

A series of feasibility studies are carried out on the applications of a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet system to a heavy-ion accelerator for particle cancer therapy. A novel HTS cyclotron is expected to be more compact and have higher efficiency than a conventional heavy ion synchrotron accelerator. A high current density is required for the HTS magnet to realize a compact HTS cyclotron. Further, a high-strength reinforcing structure is absolutely essential for the HTS magnet owing to the large Lorentz force caused by the high current density to prevent the magnet deformation and maintain the required high accuracy field. In a previous study, a novel coil structure called the Y-based oxide superconductor and reinforcing outer integrated “YOROI coil” was proposed and tested at 4.2 K in 8-T backup fields. The YOROI model coil exhibited no degradation after the excitation test with a maximum hoop stress of 1.7 GPa determined by the product of the magnetic field, current density, and coil radius. The mechanism of stress sharing between the coil winding and the reinforcing structures of the YOROI coil was numerically determined. In addition, the electromagnetic and mechanical properties of a reinforcing structure based on the YOROI coil for circular REBCO coils assuming part of the HTS cyclotron magnet system was also numerically simulated in the previous paper. In this study, a new reinforcing structure is proposed on the basis of the YOROI coil for a non-circular REBCO coil assuming part of the HTS cyclotron magnet system. The electromagnetic and mechanical properties for the new reinforcing structure are numerically determined. As a result, the proposed reinforcing structure has great ability to reduce the stress and strain acting on the coil winding to maintain the coil shape and prevent degradation in the REBCO wire.

An equivalent circuit grid model for no-insulation HTS pancake coils

An equivalent circuit grid (ECG) model is proposed to analyse the time-varying characteristics of no-insulation (NI) ReBCO pancake coils. In the model, each turn of the coil is subdivided into fine elements in the azimuthal direction, and each element is equivalent to a circuit parameter. Then, the coil is equivalent to a circuit grid. A math model based on Kirchhoff’s law is proposed to solve the circuit grid model. The distribution of the electrical current inside the NI coil is analysed for the charging and discharging process. A finite element method (FEM) model is coupled to calculate the magnetic field induced by the coil. To validate the model, a double pancake (DP) coil is fabricated by coated conductor ReBCO tapes. Charging and discharging tests are performed on the coil at 77 K. The results from simulations and experiments exhibit a good agreement. Then, this model is used for more studies on the current distribution inside the NI coil in the charging and discharging process. The charging and discharging delay of NI coil is analysed and explained by the model. The model can also be applied to partial insulated (PI) coils and magnets consisting of NI coils.