Stacked Tapes Research Articles

An analytical model for predicting the magnetization loss in HTS sector-shaped conductors for fusion

Abstract Within the framework of magnetic confinement fusion, several projects worldwide are demonstrating the possibility of integrating high-temperature superconductors (HTS) in the coil systems. HTS-based technologies are highly attractive for practical applications because they can extend the operating margins of fusion coils in terms of higher temperatures, transport currents and magnetic fields. Based on the results achieved with the twisted-stacked tape cable, we have designed a novel low-loss HTS sector cable-in-conduit conductor, with a target of 60 kA at 4.5 k, 18 T, which is presently of interest for the DEMO Central Solenoid coil. In HTS cables, the AC losses can represent a significant limiting factor, therefore they must be taken into consideration both in the design phase and in the assessment of the overall magnet thermal budget. In this work, to assess the loss behavior and to optimize the cable design, we have explored different aspect ratios and arrangements of the stacked tapes within the cable layout. The magnetization losses are calculated with a 2D finite-element model based on the T-A formulation and analytical approximations based on the Brandt-Halse critical state model. Specifically, we have developed an analytical formulation that allows for the calculation of the instantaneous power losses in HTS stacked cables with a limited number of tapes per stack, achieving sufficient accuracy at high fields. The analytical model enables a sufficiently accurate assessment of the heat deposited on the conductor during those particular instants of a plasma scenario where the variation of the field is very high, such as during the critical initial discharge period of the plasma initiation.

Electromagnetic Distribution of Stacked HTS Tapes Subjected to a Rotating Magnetic Field

Electromagnetic Distribution of Stacked HTS Tapes Subjected to a Rotating Magnetic Field

Study on Normal Bending Characteristics of Aluminium-Stabilized Stacked HTS Tape Cable for CEPC Detector Magnet

Study on Normal Bending Characteristics of Aluminium-Stabilized Stacked HTS Tape Cable for CEPC Detector Magnet

Analysis of Damage Behavior of REBCO Stacked Tapes Under Bending Loads

Analysis of Damage Behavior of REBCO Stacked Tapes Under Bending Loads

Development of a high current density, high temperature superconducting cable for pulsed magnets

Abstract A low AC loss Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) cable, based on the VIPER cable technology has been developed by Commonwealth Fusion Systems for use in high field, REBCO based tokamaks. The new cable is composed of partitioned and transposed copper ‘petals’ shaped to fit together in a circular pattern with each petal containing a REBCO tape stack and insulated from each other to reduce AC losses. A stainless steel jacket adds mechanical robustness—also serving as a vessel for solder impregnation—while a tube runs through the middle for cooling purposes. Additionally, fiber optic sensors are placed under the tape stacks for quench detection. To qualify this design, a series of experiments were conducted as part of the SPARC tokamak Central Solenoid Model Coil program—to retire the risks associated with full scale, fast ramping, high flux HTS Central Solenoid (CS) and Poloidal Field (PF) coils for tokamak fusion power plants and net energy demonstrators. These risk study and risk reduction experiments include (1) AC loss measurement and model validation in the range of ~5 T/s, (2) an IxB electromagnetic loading of over 850 kN/m at the cable level and up to 300 kN/m at the stack level, (3) a transverse compression resilience of over 350 MPa, (4) manufacturability at tokamak relevant speeds and scales, (5) cable to cable joint performance, (6) fiber optic based quench detection speed, accuracy, and feasibility, and (7) overall winding pack integration and magnet assembly. The result is a cable technology, now referred to as PIT VIPER, with AC losses that measure fifteen times lower (at ~5 T/s) than its predecessor technology; a 2% or lower degradation of critical current (Ic) at high IxB electromagnetic loads; no detectable Ic degradation up to 570 MPa of transverse compression on the cable unit cell; end to end magnet manufacturing, consistently producing Ic values within 7% of the model prediction; cable to cable joint resistances at 20 K on the order of ~15 nΩ; and fast, functional quench detection capabilities that do not involve voltage taps. This cable technology will be tested comprehensively in a Central Solenoid Model Coil to prove its readiness for compact, high field tokamak operation.

AC loss and shielding in stacks of coated conductors: Analytic modelling and comparison to experiment

This work explores the effects of the stacking of coated conductor tapes on their AC loss and penetration fields (Bp). The penetration field Bp and AC loss of short lengths of coated conducted tape stacks are analyzed, measured, and compared to a simple analytic model. The tape widths (w) and number of tapes in the stacks (Ns) were 4 mm (Ns = 1,3,5, series-305) and 12 mm (Ns = 1–40, series-244). Experimentally, the losses of the series-244 and series-305 tape stacks were measured in a spinning magnet calorimeter (SMC) in which the samples are exposed to a spinning field of frequency, f, up to 110 Hz and amplitude B0 = 566 mT and the power is measured by a calibrated boil-off calorimeter. These results were compared to calculated loss as a function of Ns for both tapes. In addition, the calculated Bp was plotted vs Ns. The basic effect observed was that stacking coated conductor tapes tended to form an effective composite with an increase Bp,comp and modified loss (For B0 < Bp,comp, Ptot was reduced with Ns, the effect saturating for Ns > 20). This could be understood in terms of treating a stack of conductors as a composite described in terms of a Brandt equations applied to a dilute superconductor. The results show and model the significantly reduced loss that stacks of conductors can have significantly for moderate levels of applied field. Such results are directly transferrable to cables of stacked strands.

Comparison of Levitation Properties between Bulk High-Temperature Superconductor Blocks and High-Temperature Superconductor Tape Stacks Prepared from Commercial Coated Conductors.

Bulk high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) such as REBa2Cu3O7-x (REBCO, RE = Y, Gd) are commonly used in rotationally symmetric superconducting magnetic bearings. However, such bulks have several disadvantages such as brittleness, limited availability and high costs due to the time-consuming and energy-intensive fabrication process. Alternatively, tape stacks of HTS-coated conductors might be used for these devices promising an improved bearing efficiency due to a simplification of manufacturing processes for the required shapes, higher mechanical strength, improved thermal performance, higher availability and therefore potentially reduced costs. Hence, tape stacks with a base area of (12 × 12) mm2 and a height of up to 12 mm were prepared and compared to commercial bulks of the same size. The trapped field measurements at 77 K showed slightly higher values for the tape stacks if compared to bulks with the same size. Afterwards, the maximum levitation forces in zero field (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) modes were measured while approaching a permanent magnet, which allows the stiffness in the vertical and lateral directions to be determined. Similar levitation forces were measured in the vertical direction for bulk samples and tape stacks in ZFC and FC modes, whereas the lateral forces were almost zero for stacks with the REBCO films parallel to the magnet. A 90° rotation of the tape stacks with respect to the magnet results in the opposite behavior, i.e., a high lateral but negligible vertical stiffness. This anisotropy originates from the arrangement of decoupled superconducting layers in the tape stacks. Therefore, a combination of stacks with vertical and lateral alignment is required for stable levitation in a bearing.

Numerical analysis of stacked HTS tapes in rotating magnetic fields using H and T-A formulations

Superconducting windings in rotating electrical machines and multi-phase transformers are subject to rotating magnetic fields. Most existing studies on the electromagnetic characteristics of stacked high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes focus on the influence of vertical magnetic field (VMF) and the transport current. The numerical study on characteristics of HTS stacked tapes in rotating magnetic fields (RMFs) has received less research attention. This paper presents two-dimensional models of stacked HTS tapes in RMF based on H and T-A formulations. AC losses obtained by the two formulations agree well in a single tape configuration but significantly differ in a stack configuration. The discrepancy increases as the number of stack layers and the stack interval increase. Under the same magnetic field amplitude, the RMF penetration depth in stacked tapes is higher than those of VMF and parallel magnetic field (PMF), and the parallel component of RMF causes higher AC loss in the end tapes of a stack. While the applied current increases the overall AC loss, it can significantly decrease the AC loss of the end tape. It is found that reducing the stack interval and replacing end tapes with tapes of higher critical current can significantly reduce the overall AC loss of stacked tapes in an RMF. These results are crucial for modeling superconducting machines and offer valuable insights into characterizing superconducting tapes in RMFs using numerical methods.

Electromagnetic and thermal performance study on a canted stack of REBCO tapes

Abstract Due to the critical current limitation of a single REBCO tape, stacking methods are generally employed to increase the current carrying capacity in practical high-temperature superconducting (HTS) applications. However, the overall critical current is strongly dependent on the self-magnetic field, which is influenced by the geometrical arrangement of conductors in the stack. Due to the brittle ceramic property, REBCO tapes are conventionally bent along the thickness side of the tape. However, the difference in bending radii of the outer and inner tape surfaces in the stack may lead to fracture deformation, thereby limiting the stacking number of REBCO tapes. To balance the stacking number with the bending issue, canted stack is proposed as a variant of normal stack for REBCO tapes. As a potential HTS intermediate component, it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive study on electromagnetic and thermal performance of canted stack. The unique geometrical arrangement of canted stack introduces new factors that affect critical current and transport AC loss. This paper concludes the special influencing factors of canted stack, including canted angle, stacking number, tape width, and spatial structure. The metal interleaving method is introduced for spatial distribution changing and thermal stability. Furthermore, orthogonal analysis is performed to elucidate the comprehensive correlation among these multiple factors. This study provides insights into the overall critical current and transport AC loss for different combinations of canted stack and establishes a predicting function for critical current to support the structural design of canted stack. Based on the specific case study, the improvement effect of canted stack is confirmed by both experiments and simulations.

An experimental validation study of a numerical modeling approach to predicting post-consolidation dimensions of thermoplastic composites

Consolidation is an important step in the processing of thermoplastic unidirectional (UD) tapes, as it creates a bond between individual tapes to form a semi-finished sheet: The tape stack is first heated and then cooled, both while being subjected to pressure. If the material is in a soft or even molten state and its flow unrestricted, this compression can result in squeeze flow, the direction of which is determined by the fibers of the tapes. Extensive squeeze flow not only results in significant changes in part geometry to the point where it may fail to meet design and application specifications but can also lead to severe distortion and residual stresses. To address this, we developed a model that, given the process parameters and fiber orientation, predicts the effects of squeeze flow. Based on experimental data on UD polycarbonate tapes with 44% carbon fibers by volume consolidated at various process settings, this paper presents the validation of the model for industrial application. We found that at low heating temperatures, where the matrix viscosity is too high and prevents the material from flowing, the simulation results deviated markedly from the experimental data. With these temperatures excluded, however, the overall deviation of the model was 8.7% for thickness change and 5.3% for area change.

AC Loss Study in REBCO HTS Tape and Four-Tape Stack Carrying AC Current With DC Offset

AC Loss Study in REBCO HTS Tape and Four-Tape Stack Carrying AC Current With DC Offset

Deformation Behavior of Stacked REBCO Tapes Under Compressive Loads

Deformation Behavior of Stacked REBCO Tapes Under Compressive Loads

Влияние сжимающих механических нагрузок на распределение критического тока в пакетах ВТСП-лент

The distribution of the trapped magnetic field of untinned and tinned high-temperature superconductors (HTS) tapes after mechanical load on the stack of tapes was studied by the scanning Hall magnetometry method. Based on the obtained data, the values of the average critical current for all the studied samples were calculated. The degradation of the current carry capacity starts with lower mechanical loading on the stack in case of tinned tapes than of untinned ones. For tinned tapes the average value of the critical current drops by more than two times relative to initial state when a mechanical load of 400 MPa was applied; for untinned tapes – a decrease in the critical current is of less than 25%. The obtained data will be useful for further designs of current-carrying part based on stacks of HTS tapes for various applications.

Current sharing in double-sided REBCO tapes

Current sharing between RE–Ba–Cu–O (REBCO, RE = rare earth) tapes within a high-temperature superconducting coil or cable is important to avoid damage from uncontrolled quench of superconducting devices operating at high currents. Current sharing between REBCO tapes is found to be limited by the contact resistivity between adjacent tapes, which is about 20x higher in the REBCO-facing-substrate (face-to-back) configuration that is commonly used in devices compared to a REBCO-facing-REBCO (face-to-face) configuration. Double-sided REBCO tapes always offer face-to-face contacts between adjacent tapes, and this benefit of excellent current sharing has been validated in experiments wherein an artificial defect is introduced in one tape in a 2-ply tape stack. Additionally, current sharing between the two REBCO layers within one double-sided REBCO tape has also been investigated. Slotting of the double-sided tapes, wherein slots through the insulating buffer stack are filled with a conductive material, has been found to significantly enhance the current sharing from one REBCO layer to the opposite layer.

A Novel Aluminum-Stabilized Stacked REBCO Tape Cable

A Novel Aluminum-Stabilized Stacked REBCO Tape Cable

Variations in critical current density of TSSC cable under torsional and radial loads

A 3D finite element mechanical-electric numerical model was constructed to analyze the mechanical-electric performance of TSSC cables under torsional and radial loads at 77 K. The results indicate that when subjected to torsional load, the tapes in the outermost region within the slot of TSSC cable initially exhibit a decreasing trend, gradually expanding towards the inner region. The magnitude of this decrease progressively diminishes in the direction from outer to inner. Conversely, under radial loading, the normalized critical current density of the tapes in the innermost region within the slot initially decreases and expands outward along the radius. The tapes in the middle region remain mostly unaltered, while the outer region follows a pattern of increasing from inside out and reaches its peak at layers 28 and 29. Moreover, under torsional loads, TSSC cables display a higher normalized critical current density in the counterclockwise direction compared to the clockwise direction. To enhance the critical current density performance of TSSC cables under torsional loads, it is suggested to appropriately reduce the pitch, decrease the width of superconducting tape, increase the number of stacked tapes, enlarge the width of the slot and the diameter of the diversion trench, as well as increase the inner diameter while decreasing the outer diameter of the helical core. The choice of material for helical cores is not significantly impactful. On the other hand, under radial loads, factors such as tape width, number of stacked tapes, slot width, diversion trench diameter, and inner and outer diameters of the helical core have similar effects. Additionally, increasing the pitch length or adding more slots can enhance the critical current density performance of TSSC cables. Selecting different materials for the helical core also contributes positively to this improvement.

Use of the J-A Approach to Model Homogenized 2G Tape Stacks and HTS Bulks

Use of the J-A Approach to Model Homogenized 2G Tape Stacks and HTS Bulks

Numerical Analysis on the Current Distribution and the Loss in HTS Stacked Tapes Considering Termination Resistances

Numerical Analysis on the Current Distribution and the Loss in HTS Stacked Tapes Considering Termination Resistances

3D modeling and measurement of HTS tape stacks in linear superconducting magnetic bearings

Superconducting magnetic bearings (SMBs) are among the possible new technologies to be incorporated in maglev vehicles. Stacks of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tapes can be used as an alternative to bulks, because stacks offer better mechanical properties, a better thermal conductivity and a simpler production process. Numerical modeling has been employed as a cost-effective, fast and reliable tool for improving the performance of SMBs. Several scenarios can be simulated with fast and relatively simple 2D models; however, in some cases using 3D models is inevitable. In this study, we use a full 3D model to solve the problem of magnetization of the tape stacks and obtaining the hysteresis force loop between a permanent magnet and the tape stacks. For this purpose, we employ an energy minimization-based method called minimum electromagnetic entropy production in 3D, combined with a homogenization technique and the Jc(B,θ) dependence of the HTS tape as input. The modeling results agree very well with the experiment both in the zero-field cooled and field-cooled conditions. The presented approach offers significant computational advantages, delivering faster and more efficient results compared to previously proposed 3D methods.

Performance degradation due to thermal cycling in soldered Faraday and SuperPower HTS tape stacks

Soldering stacks of high temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes results in a current carrying matrix with high electrical, thermal, and mechanical stability. In some applications, these tape stacks may be exposed to elevated temperatures during thermal heat cycles. Previous research on thermal degradation of high temperature superconductors has been performed with isolated crystals or individual HTS tapes, showing that oxygen-out diffusion from the rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) results in a reduction of the superconducting performance. In this work, the performance of Pb37Sn63 soldered HTS tape stacks with thermal cycling to 170∘ C is quantified through determination of the critical current Ic , the n-value, the linear resistance R in the pre-transition region of the tape stack current–voltage (I–V) traces, and the diffusion coefficient D associated with oxygen-out diffusion. The effect of tape manufacturer and nickel electroplating were considered; three soldered stacks each of unplated Faraday, nickel electroplated Faraday, unplated SuperPower, and nickel electroplated SuperPower tapes were fabricated. Across 20–30 one hour thermal cycles, there are no significant differences in degradation profiles observed between the unplated and nickel electroplated tape stacks for a given manufacturer. There is however a marked difference in degradation profiles observed between the SuperPower and Faraday tape stacks. For the unplated and plated SuperPower tape stacks, the degradation in Ic generally follows the model to describe oxygen-out diffusion from the superconducting REBCO layer. Significantly less degradation is observed in the unplated and plated Faraday tape stacks, and in some sections Ic even increases slightly across cycles. Further, cases of increasing Ic accompanied with decreasing n are observed, a decoupling between the two parameters. Across all samples, the linear resistance was highest in current-redistribution regions near the leads. Consistent with the model of oxygen-out diffusion and the formation of an increasingly wide oxygen deficient layer in the REBCO, the linear resistance increased with cycle number.