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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Brookhaven superconducting cable test facility

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7260809
Construction has started on an outdoor testing station for flexible ac superconducting power transmission cables. It is intended to serve as an intermediate step between laboratory-scale experiments and qualification testing of prototype-scale cables. The permanent equipment includes a 500 W supercritical helium refrigerator using a screw compressor and multistage turbine expanders. Helium storage for 250,000 cu ft of helium at 250 psi is provided. Initially, the cables will be tested in a horizontal cryostat some 250 ft long. High-voltage 60 Hz tests will be performed with the cable in a series resonant mode with a maximum line to ground capability of 240 kV, this is adequate for a 138 kV system design. Impulse testing up to about 650 kV is planned. The cable conductor will be energized by current transformers, initially at about 4 kA and later up to fault levels of 40 kA. The refrigerator is now at the site and testing on a dummy load will commence in the Fall of 1976. The cryostat will be installed in 1977 followed about a year later by the first cable tests.
Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, N.Y. (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
E(30-1)-16
OSTI ID:
7260809
Report Number(s):
BNL-21780; CONF-760829-27
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English