Conceptual Design of the Cryostat for a Direct-Drive Superconducting Wind Generator

Direct-drive superconducting generators are attracting wide interest in wind power generation. Cryostats are usually required in superconducting electric machines to keep low temperature for the superconducting coils. The characteristics of superconducting machine should be taken into account in the cryostat design. In this paper, a conceptual design of the cryostat for a low temperature superconducting (LTS) direct-drive wind generator is presented. Different cooling methods for the superconductors are discussed and a conductive cooling method is employed. A cryostat supporting structure is proposed and the structural analysis is performed according to the performance of the superconducting electric machine. The thermal loads are estimated by empirical formula and finite element analysis (FEA), and the detailed design is also presented.