Numerical Simulation and Cold Test of a Compact 2G HTS Power Cable

Superconductinge power cables offer the advantages of lower loss, lighter weight, and smaller dimensions, in comparison with conventional cables. It is important to developed most compact cable with a small diameter to increase the transmission power density of a cable. Precise analysis should be used to provide optimal cable layout with uniform current distribution among layers. We have developed an electric circuit model of a cable, and two FEM models using a finite-element code ANSYS. The numerical simulations can provide detailed information about the current distribution inside the cable and the optimal parameters from the point of view of current distribution of the cable have been determined. On the base of the models, the compact 2G HTS cable model with three layers in the core and two layers in the shield has been produced and tested. The outer diameter of the cable was as small as ~20 mm that is less than previously 1G and 2G HTS power cables tested. The experiment with the model cable demonstrated that even rather small mistake in the diameter of a layer leads to considerable change of current distribution among layers. This phenomenon was analyzed with the simulation models developed. It was shown that change of a layer diameter as small as the thickness of one tape (~0.1 mm) led to the current distribution change observed. Calculated results qualitatively coincide with the experiments. In addition, ac losses at different frequencies have been measured to compare them with ac loss in previously tested cables with larger diameter.