Comparison Study Between Several Solutions of Superconducting Inductors

A 20-kW superconducting motor has been designed, realized, and successfully tested. The armature is a three-phase copper conventional one, and the inductor is made of two superconducting solenoids and four YBaCuO bulk superconductors. Three-dimensional calculations are made using Monte Carlo Methods. These numerical methods have the particularity to be applied in a limited area of the studied magnetic domain. Computation time is about several hours. Dimensionless functions are used to develop an analytical method for studying several configurations of motors. Comparisons are made between high- and low-temperature superconductor (HTS and LTS, respectively) wires and an extrapolation of the realized motor has been studied. Inductors for 1-, 5-, and 20-MW motors have been designed. Results show that, by using HTS wires, we can reduce the volume of the inductor up to 18.5% in comparison with a conventional inductor for the 20-MW motor.