Electrical Insulation Characteristics of HTS Cables Under Quench-Induced Thermal Stress Condition

This paper discusses the electrical insulation characteristics of high temperature superconducting (HTS) cable under quench condition exposed to thermal and electrical combined stress. We applied a high voltage of 60 Hz ac to the sample electrode, and injected a large current of 60 Hz ac into Bi2223/Ag tapes to induce quench. Experimental results revealed that partial discharges (PD) were induced by the transient thermal stress due to quench under the high voltage condition. A criterion of the combined stress for PD inception was experimentally obtained.