A simplified model of coaxial, multilayer high-temperature superconducting power cables with Cu formers for transient studies

Abstract

Bypassing transient current through copper (Cu) stabilizer layers reduces heat generation and temperature rise of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) conductors, which could protect HTS cables from burning out during transient conditions. The Cu layer connected in parallel with HTS tape layers impacts current distribution among layers and variations of phase resistance in either steady-state or transient conditions. Modeling the multilayer HTS power cable is important for transient studies. However, existing models of HTS power cables have only proposed HTS cables without the use of a Cu-former layer. To overcome this problem, the authors proposed a multilayer HTS power cable model that used a Cu-former layer in each phase for transient study. It was observed that resistance of the HTS conductor increased significantly in the transient state due to a quenching phenomenon, which made the transient current mainly flow into the Cu-former layers. Since resistance of the Cu-former layer has a significant impact on the transient current, detailed modeling of the Cu-former layer is described in this study. The feasibility of the developed HTS cable model is evaluated in the PSCAD/EMTDC program.