Earticle

This paper presents the analysis results on the electrical output performance characteristics of a 746 W high temperature superconducting generator (HTSG). The HTS field winding is charged by non-contact excitation method, i.e., contactless superconducting field exciter (CSFE) which is originated by rotary flux pump based on permanent magnet. In this paper, the preliminary current charging test was carried out using a 70 A CSFE to evaluate the performance of field exciter and analyze its non-contact excitation characteristics for the full-scale HTS field winding of the 746 W HTSG. First, the various contactless current-charging tests were conducted using assembly with HTS field winding and CSFE. Then, in order to estimate the output power performance characteristics of the 746 WHTSG, finite element analysis was conducted based on field excitation information which is experimentally measured under various operating conditions. Finally, the electrical output characteristics in no-load and load models were simulated by two-dimensional transient solver in ANSYS electromagnetics 19.0 release.

Electromechanical properties of REBCO CC tapes are known to be limited by defects (cracks) that form in the brittle REBCO layer. These defects could be inherently acquired during the CC tapes’ manufacturing process, such as slitting, and which can be initiated at the CC tapes’ edges. If propagated and long enough, they are believed to cause critical current degradation and can substantially decrease the delamination strength of CC tapes. Currently, commercially available CC tapes from various manufacturers utilize different growth techniques for depositing the REBCO layers on the substrates in their CC tapes preparation. Their epitaxial techniques, unfortunately, cannot perfectly avoid the formation of particles, in which sometimes acts as current blocking defects, known as outgrowths. Collective research regarding the composition, size, and formation of these particles for various CC tapes with different deposition techniques are particularly uncommon in a single study. Most importantly, these particles might interact in one way or another to the existing cracks. Therefore, systematic investigation on the interactions between the cracks’ development mechanism and particles on the REBCO superconducting layers of practical CC tapes are of great importance, especially in the design of superconducting devices. Here, a proper etching process was employed for the CC tapes to expose and observe the REBCO layers, clearly. The scanning electron microscope, field emission scanning microscope, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were utilized to observe the interactions between cracks and particles in various practical CC tapes. Particle compositions were identified whether as non-superconducting or superconducting and in what manner it interacts with the cracks were studied.

This study presents the experiment and simulation results on the magnetic field response and electrical stability behaviors of noinsulation (NI) and metal insulation with stainless steel tape (MI-SS) which wound in form of racetrack type coils. First of all, the structural design of the racetrack type bobbin was shown along with its parameters. Then, the current-voltage tests were carried out to measure the critical current of both test coils. Also, the sudden discharging and charging tests were performed in the steady state to estimate the decay field time and magnetic field response, respectively. Finally, the overcurrent tests were conducted in the transient state to investigate the electrical stability of these test coils. Based on the experimental results, the contact surface resistances were calculated and applied to the field coils (FCs) of 10-MW-class second generation high temperature superconducting generator (2G HTSG) used in wind offshore environment. The charging delay time and electrical stability for NI and MI-SS HTS FCs of 10-MW-class 2G HTSG are analyzed by the equivalent circuit model and the key parameters which were obtained from the electromagnetic finite element analysis results.

The purpose of this analytic study is to design and examine an efficient hydrogen liquefaction cycle by using a pre-cooler. The liquefaction cycle is primarily comprised of a pre-cooler and a refrigerator. The fed hydrogen gas is cooled down from ambient temperature (300 K) to the pre-cooling coolant temperature (either 77 K or 120 K approximately) through the pre-cooler. There are two pre-cooling methods: a single pre-coolant pre-cooler and a cascade pre-cooler which uses two levels of pre-coolants. After heat exchanging with the pre-cooler, the hydrogen gas is further cooled and finally liquefied through the refrigerator. The working fluids of the potential pre-cooling cycle are selected as liquid nitrogen and liquefied natural gas. A commercial software Aspen HYSYS is utilized to perform the numerical simulation of the proposed liquefaction cycle. Efficiency is compared with respect to the various conditions of the heat exchanging part of the pre-cooler. The analysis results show that the cascade method is more efficient, and the heat exchanging part of the pre-coolers should have specific UA ratios to maximize both spatial and energy efficiencies. This paper presents the quantitative performance of the pre-cooler in the hydrogen liquefaction cycle in detail, which shall be useful for designing an energy-efficient liquefaction system.

The purpose of this analytic study is to design and examine an efficient hydrogen liquefaction cycle by using a pre-cooler. The liquefaction cycle is primarily comprised of a pre-cooler and a refrigerator. The fed hydrogen gas is cooled down from ambient temperature (300 K) to the pre-cooling coolant temperature (either 77 K or 120 K approximately) through the pre-cooler. There are two pre-cooling methods: a single pre-coolant pre-cooler and a cascade pre-cooler which uses two levels of pre-coolants. After heat exchanging with the pre-cooler, the hydrogen gas is further cooled and finally liquefied through the refrigerator. The working fluids of the potential pre-cooling cycle are selected as liquid nitrogen and liquefied natural gas. A commercial software Aspen HYSYS is utilized to perform the numerical simulation of the proposed liquefaction cycle. Efficiency is compared with respect to the various conditions of the heat exchanging part of the pre-cooler. The analysis results show that the cascade method is more efficient, and the heat exchanging part of the pre-coolers should have specific UA ratios to maximize both spatial and energy efficiencies. This paper presents the quantitative performance of the pre-cooler in the hydrogen liquefaction cycle in detail, which shall be useful for designing an energy-efficient liquefaction system.

The diminishing of heat leak into cryogenic vessels can prolong the storage time of cryogenic liquid. With the storage of cryogenic liquid reducing, the heat leak decreases, while the actual storage time increases. Regarding to the theoretical analysis, the obtained results seems to be constructive for the cryogenic insulation system applications. This study presents a predictive assessment of heat leak occurring in non-vacuum tanks with a single layer of insulation. A Radial steady-state heat transfer, based on heat conduction equation, is taken into consideration. Graphical results show the thermal performance of the insulation used, they also allow us to choose the appropriate insulation thickness according to the shape and diameter of the storage tank.