Application of the FDM-ADI Method for Simulating SFCL Under Inrush Conditions

Superconducting fault-current limiters (SFCLs) are expected to withstand inrush currents without quenching. Since inrush currents are relatively low as compared with short circuits, heterogeneous quenching may take place, leading to the formation of hotspots. In this paper, the finite difference method (FDM) combined with the alternating direction implicit (ADI) solution routine has been employed to investigate the quench process in a resistive SFCL module under inrush conditions. The FDM-ADI method provides relatively fast algorithms and can be considered an alternative approach due to the possibility of including inhomogeneities of critical current values. The tested module is a MCP-BSCCO-2212, which was submitted to current levels up to 3.6 times the normal operating current for a few seconds. A good agreement between simulations and tests results has been found in the present work.