Experimental Investigation on 100 A-Class PCL for DC HTS Devices

As a connecting superconducting devices at cryogenic temperature with power sources operating at room temperature, current leads cover a wide temperature range and are the major heat leakage source during operation. A Peltier current lead (PCL), consisting of a Peltier element (PE) inserted into a copper lead at its room-temperature side, can effectively reduce heat leaks and lower operational costs. This paper presents a chilly-water apparatus at the hot ends of PEs for steady operation at 120 A and puts forward an operation mode for a variable current system. Thermoeletric models with natural air convection or water cooling mode were established. Samples of optimized dimensional PCL with combination of both modes were designed and fabricated. Dynamic stable experiments of samples were carried out. The results show that the two cooling modes differ in the available current range, and the PCL has potential applications in the HTS devices.