Simulation of AC Loss in the Armature Windings of a 100 kW All-HTS Motor With Various (RE)BCO Conductor Considerations

Abstract

Superconducting machine designs have historically focused on an isolated, cryogenic rotor and conventional (copper) stator due to unacceptable levels of AC loss in a superconducting stator. Thus, AC loss reduction in the armature windings is one of the key issues for achieving practical all-superconducting motors that could deliver an unprecedented power density and significantly reduce machine complexity. In this paper, a 100 kW, 1500 rpm, all - HTS motor operating at 65 K is designed and AC loss simulations in HTS armature windings wound with different types of (RE)BCO conductor arrangements are carried out by implementing the T-A formulation and a rotating mesh using commercial FEM software COMSOL Multiphysics. Either 4 mm-wide (RE)BCO conductors, 14/2 (14 strands, each strand is 2 mm wide) (RE)BCO Roebel cables, or striated (RE)BCO conductors with four 1 mm-wide filaments are considered in the armature windings. The simulation results show that armature windings wound with Roebel cables or striated conductors can significantly reduce the AC loss in the armature windings compared to windings wound with 4 mm-wide conductors. It is also shown that the AC loss in the armature winding wound with the 4 mm-wide (RE)BCO conductors decreases with decreasing operating temperature. The AC loss reduction can be attributed to the reduced magnetic field penetration associated with the increased $I_{\mathrm {c}}$ in the winding. Finally, a 2% AC loss reduction can be achieved in the armature winding wound with (RE)BCO conductors with asymmetric $I_{\mathrm {c}}(B$ , $\theta$ ) characteristics by simply flipping the direction of the conductors of the armature winding. The simulation results in this work have practical implications for designing all-HTS superconducting rotating machines. Such machines could be suitable for H2 powered electric vehicles like large interstate trucks, heavy machinery, or locomotives.