Method of mounting coils on the rotor of a superconductive rotary electric machine

A method of winding a coil of superconductive linear material in a flat planar shape and mounting it on the cylindrical surface of a coil-carrying shaft of a rotor of a superconductive rotary electric machine, said method comprising:

• forming at least two parallel grooves in the cylindrical side surface of the coil-carrying shaft with the length of the grooves extending in the axial direction of the coil-carrying shaft and the depth of the grooves extending radially of the coil-carrying shaft;
• forming a pair of annular recesses in said surface of the coil-carrying shaft extending in the circumferential direction of the coil-carrying shaft, each of said annular recesses being connected between corresponding ends of said axially extending grooves;
• winding a length of superconductive linear material into a coil formed of a stack of a plurality of turns each in the form of a flat planar substantially rectangular ring having sides symmetrical about a longitudinal turn axis and transverse ends with the sides each having the same length and the ends of the turns being superposed directly on top of each other with the longitudinal axes one above the other, and the ends of the successive turns from one end of the stack to the other in the direction of stacking having greater lengths with the sides of the superposed turns being offset laterally outwardly in the plane of the turn relative to the sides of the next adjacent turn in the stack, and the four straight portions of each turn being connected with each other by circularly curved linear material portions;
• and
• bending the ends of the turns in said coil such that said ends are slightly curved and conform to said annular recesses and the respective sides of the coil become aligned such that they substantially match said radially extending parallel grooves and disposing them in said recesses and disposing the sides of said turns in said coil in said grooves formed in said surface of the coil-carrying shaft.