High temperature superconducting rotor power leads
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsEvangelos Trifon Laskaris, James Pellegrino Alexander
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Abstract
The resistive power leads of a high temperature superconducting (HTS) rotor field coil are located in vacuum near the rotor axis and are cooled by thermal conduction to the return flow path by bonding the leads to the tubing bulkhead through ceramic insulators. The lead length, cross-section and electrical resistivity are optimized for minimum heat conduction and ohmic resistance heat transfer to the cold gas. Thermal expansion or contraction of the leads is accommodated by flexible sections at the warm and cold end of the leads.
Claims19
A power lead for a high temperature superconducting (HTS) rotor winding coil, the power lead comprising:
- a heat station block attachable to a return flow tubing bulkhead;
- a ceramic insulator securable between the heat station block and the return flow tubing bulkhead;
- and
- thermally optimized current leads coupled with the heat station block.
A power lead for a high temperature superconducting (HTS) rotor winding coil, the power lead comprising heat station blocks electrically coupleable with a rotor of an electrical machine, the heat station blocks being electrically insulated from a return flow tubing while being thermally coupled with the return flow tubing via a ceramic insulator interposed therebetween for thermal conductivity between the heat station blocks and the return flow tubing.
An electric machine comprising:
- a stator;
- a rotor coupled with the stator for rotation relative to the stator about a rotor axis, the rotor including lead terminals disposed in a vicinity of the rotor axis;
- a return flow tubing carrying a coolant for heat exchanger cooling;
- and
- a high temperature superconducting (HTS) rotor winding coil coupled with the rotor lead terminals via resistive power leads, the power leads comprising:
- a heat station block attachable to a bulkhead of the return flow tubing,
- a ceramic insulator securable between the heat station block and the return flow tubing bulkhead, and
- thermally optimized current leads coupled with the heat station block.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.