Simulation of Current Lead Temperature Distribution on High-Tc Superconducting Cable Terminal Under Fault Current

Current lead is an important part of the superconducting cable terminal. Heat will be transmitted from the environment to the cable conductor joint through the current leads under the huge temperature difference. Leakage heat and joule heat must be removed to ensure the temperature gradient on the current leads satisfy application requirements. Based on actual operation parameters of superconducting cable terminal, temperature distribution on current lead is simulated under rated current, 50% rated current and fault current. The results show that temperature distribution under failure state is very different from the normal state. The highest temperature appears in the middle part of the current leads where is near the hot end.