Loss and Inductance Investigation in Superconducting Cable Conductors

An important parameter in the design and optimization of a superconducting cable conductor is the control of the current distribution among single tapes and layers. This distribution is to a large degree determined by inductances, since the resistances are low. The self and mutual inductances of the layers are therefore studied theoretically. The current distribution between the superconducting layers is monitored as a function of transport current, and the results are compared with the expected current distribution given by our electrical circuit model.The AC-losses are measured as a function of transport current and current distribution.This presentation is based on a number of experiments performed on prototype superconducting cable conductors. The critical current (1uV/cm) of the conductor at 77K was 1590 A (cable #1) and 3240 A (cable #2) respectively.At an rms current of 2 kA (50 Hz) the AC-loss was measured on cable #2 to 0.6W/mxphase. This is, to our knowledge, the lowest AC-loss (at 2kA and 77K) of a high temperature superconducting cable conductor reported so far.