A cryogen-free superconducting magnet for Maglev applications: design and test results

Author

Herd, K.G. ; Laskaris, E.T. ; Thompson, P.S. ; Kalsi, S.

Author_Institution

Corp. Res. & Dev., Gen. Electr. Co., Schenectady, NY, USA

Volume

5

Issue

2

fYear

1995

fDate

6/1/1995 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

961

Lastpage

963

Abstract

A novel cryogen-free superconducting magnet for use in levitating and propelling Maglev vehicles has been developed and tested. The magnet is conduction-cooled by a two-stage CTI Cryodyne-1020 Gifford-McMahon cryogenic refrigerator. YBCO high-Tc superconducting current leads are incorporated in order to minimize the heat leak to the magnet. A low eddy-current cryostat has been fabricated using fiberglass-reinforced epoxy structures with subdivided stainless steel permeation barriers. The magnet has been cooled to approximately 10 K and ramped to the design current of 100 amps DC. The magnet has also been operated with a 20 Hz, +/-15 amp sinusoidal excitation. Test results for the thermal and magnetic performance of the magnet are presented.<>

Keywords

cryostats; design engineering; electron device manufacture; magnetic levitation; power cable testing; superconducting cables; superconducting magnets; 10 K; 100 A; 15 A; 20 Hz; Maglev; YBaCuO; applications; cryogen-free superconducting magnet; design; eddy-current cryostat; high-T/sub c/ superconducting current leads; levitation; magnetic performance; propulsion; testing; thermal performance; two-stage CTI Cryodyne-1020 Gifford-McMahon cryogenic refrigerator; Eddy currents; Magnetic flux; Magnetic levitation; Refrigeration; Steel; Superconducting coils; Superconducting magnetic energy storage; Superconducting magnets; Testing; Vehicles;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Applied Superconductivity, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1051-8223

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/77.402709

Filename

402709