High-temperature superconducting current leads
Use of high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) for current leads to deliver power to devices at liquid helium temperature can reduce refrigeration requirements to values significantly below those achievable with conventional leads. HTS leads are now near commercial realization. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has developed a sinter-forge process to fabricate current leads from bismuth-based superconductors. The current-carrying capacity of these leads is five times better than that of HTS leads made by a conventional fabrication process. ANL along with Superconductivity, Inc., has developed a 1500 ampere current lead for an existing superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) device. With Babcock & Wilcox Company, Argonne is creating 16-kiloampere leads for use in a 0.5 MWh SMES. In a third project Argonne performed characterization testing of a existing, proprietary conduction-cooled lead being developed by Zer Res Corp.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 35399
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/ES/PP--85380; CONF-941210--12; ON: DE95008404
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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