Thermal Analysis of Open-Circuit Steady-State MgB2 Superconducting Synchronous Generator Based on Multiphysical Field Coupling

This paper investigates the electromagnetic and thermal behavior of the open-circuit steady-state magnesium diboride (MgB
₂
) superconducting synchronous generator (SSG) using multiphysical field coupling. The electromagnetic performance of a 1/12 3-D MgB
₂
SSG is first analyzed based on the electromagnetic field to calculate power losses as distributed heat sources for thermal analyses. One thermal analysis method based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is applied to the 1/6 3-D model of the MgB
₂
SSG, whereas the other based on the finite-element method (FEM) is used to analyze the entire 3-D model of the MgB
₂
SSG. The results of both are compared and used to calculate cooling medium velocity and temperature distribution. Finally, in light of the aforementioned results and heat transfer theory, an equivalent thermal network model (ETNM) for the MgB
₂
SSG is proposed. The calculated results based on ETNM are compared with those of the FEM and CFD to highlight its correctness and applicability.