SUPERCONDUCTING MOTOR How do Motors Work?

Motors are machines that convert electrical energy into mechanical energy using magnetic forces. When current is passed through a wire loop that lies in a magnetic field, a turning force, or torque, is created that causes the loop to rotate. In motors, this rotating motion is transmitted to a shaft. This rotational energy is then utilized for useful work in the form of mechanical power. Industrial motors are used for running pumps, fans, and compressors as well as in equipment involved in the handling and processing of manufactured materials. Marine propulsion motors are used to propel commercial vessels and warships. The basic features of modern conventional AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current) electric motors were first designed in the 1890s, and the underlying technology has not changed significantly in the past fifty years. Despite the lengthy period of time in which motors have been in development, motors are still far from being perfectly efficient converters of electrical to mechanical energy. The principal causes of lost power in motors come from the electrical resistance of the wire and from mechanical friction. Energy Consumption by Electric Motors According to the U.S. Department of Energy, motors account for 70% of all energy consumed by the domestic manufacturing sector and use over 55% of the total electric energy generated in America. Large electric motors, those greater than 1000 horsepower, consume over 25% of the total generated electric energy. With some minor exceptions, nearly all cruise ships today are being built with electrical propulsion, and many other types of commercial vessels and warships are now also adopting marine motors as their primary source of motive power. How do Superconducting Motors Differ from Conventional Motors? Superconducting motors are new types of AC synchronous motors that employ HTS (high temperature superconductor) windings in place of conventional copper coils. Because HTS wire can carry significantly larger currents than can copper wire, these windings are capable of generating much more powerful magnetic fields in a given volume of space. Advantages of Superconducting Motors More Compact Size Advances in coil design make it possible for a superconducting machine to match the power output of an equally rated conventional motor with as little as one-third the size and weight. The smaller size and compact nature of superconducting motors allows them to be manufactured at lower cost than equivalent conventional motors. Additionally, the replacement of conventional copper rotor windings with non-resistant HTS coils results in sharply reduced electrical losses in the rotor. The increased electrical current in the motors rotor results ultimately in the increased power density (and hence smaller size). The HTS motors smaller size means it is significantly lighter, and therefore can be utilized in new and innovative ways. In addition, the motors increased efficiency results in lower operating costs than conventional motors. Noise Reduction HTS AC synchronous motors also have no iron teeth in the armature (stator windings), not only contributing to their smaller size and lighter weight, but also removing a significant source of motor noise. Potential Energy Savings

As an example of the savings that can result from the use of large HTS electric motors, a 1% increase in the efficiency of a 5 megawatt (approximately 6,500 horsepower) electric motor, run 7 x 24, will result in the saving of over 430,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Where and How Will Superconducting Motors be Used? HTS motors will compete in the large (1,000 hp and above) commercial motor market. These motors are ideal for use in pumps, fans, compressors, blowers, and belt drives deployed by utility and industrial customers, particularly those requiring continuous operation. They will be suitable for large process industries such as steel milling, pulp and paper processing, chemical, oil and gas refining, mining and other heavy-duty applications. An important and rapidly growing use for HTS motors will be in transportation applications, particularly naval and commercial ship propulsion, where size and weight savings will provide a key benefit by increasing design flexibility and opening up limited space for other uses. A marine engineering revolution is taking place today in the maritime industry, and more and more ships are being built with electrical motors as their primary means of propulsion as the benefits of electric propulsion are being verified and new types of innovative ship designs incorporating electric propulsion are introduced. What is the Market Potential? It is estimated that the worldwide addressable market for large industrial motors is over $1.2 billion annually. HTS motors will offer an attractive economic alternative to conventional motors by virtue of their lower first (acquisition) cost and their reduced ongoing (operating) cost. Electric marine propulsion is a market of approximately $250 million that is growing strongly. Some studies indicate that this market will quadruple over the next decade. Superconducting specialty motors will be particularly attractive for niche applications in which size and weight considerations come into play. What are the Benefits? Lower first cost - Because of savings in materials and labour, HTS motors will cost less to manufacture than their conventional counterparts. Lower operating costs - An HTS synchronous motor has considerably reduced losses, yielding significant annual savings in electricity consumption. For continuous duty cycle motors, a one percent increase in efficiency can result in thousands of dollars in annual energy savings. Less vibration and noise - Elimination of iron teeth in the stator results in a lightweight motor that boasts quiet and smooth operation. Smaller size and weight - The compact design of HTS motors will facilitate placement in transportation applications where space and/or weight is at a premium, as well as in upgrades of industrial facilities where increased power requirements conflict with limited space availability. Increased stability - Superconducting motors are inherently more electrically stable during transients than conventional motors because they operate at small load angles (15 degrees vs. 70 degrees for a conventional motor) and have a much higher peak torque capability (~300%). As a result, the motor can withstand large transients or oscillatory torques without losing synchronous speed. The HTS machines do not require rapid field forcing during fast load changes or transients as is often the case with conventional machines. Faster delivery and installation - The smaller size of superconducting motors will enable them to be manufactured and shipped directly to the customer without costly disassembly and subsequent onsite re-assembly and testing. It would also be possible to build motors up to 5000 hp, 1800 rpm in NEMA (National Equipment Manufacturers Association) sizes on a continuous assembly line. Marine propulsion motors can be installed

external to the hull of ships in propulsion thrusters (or pods, figure 1), which have the potential to dramatically lower shipbuilding costs and shorten construction schedules. These advantages will reduce delivery lead times and reduce overhead costs. Podded propulsion applications provide greater hydrodynamic efficiency and reduce operating expenses. Superconducting Motor Types Superconducting technology will be employed in a variety of motor designs. Industrial HTS motors are designed for constant speed application. They will be operated at 1800 or 3600 rpm. For marine propulsion, a high-torque, low-speed design is favoured. These motors will be designed to operate at variable speeds below 200 rpm. Summary Todays motors are fundamentally similar to the electric motors designed over a century ago, and the motor manufacturing industry has seen only incremental improvement in product design over the past fifty years. The advent of high temperature superconductivity has created the opportunity for a quantum leap in the technology of large motors. The tremendous cost, size, weight and efficiency benefits of superconducting machines will significantly change the dynamics of the motor manufacturing industry and the motor end user market. SUPERCONDUCTING TRANSFORMERS Transformers represent one of the oldest and most mature elements in a power transmission and distribution network. From the point of electricity generation at a power plant, where extremely high voltages are needed to "push" large amounts of power into the grid, to the end user of electricity in a home or office, where typical appliances operate at much lower voltages (100-200 volts), transformers are needed to effect voltage conversions. At each conversion point, energy is lost, primarily in the form of wasted heat from changing electrical and magnetic fields in the copper (coil), iron (core), tank, and supporting structure. Even when the transformer is "idling," socalled "no-load losses" (NLL) are generated in the core. Research over the last 50 years has succeeded in reducing NLL by a factor of three while increasing core costs by a factor of two. Recent substitution in distribution transformers (ratings below about 100 kVA) of amorphous metals for silicon iron core material has reduced NLL further, but this material has not been used in the cores of power transformers (ratings greater than 500 kVA). When a transformer is under a loaded condition, Joule heating (I2R losses) of the copper coil adds considerably to the amount of lost energy. In spite of the fact that today's utility power transformer loses less than 1% of its total rating in wasted energy, any energy saved within this one percent represents a tremendous potential savings over the expected lifetime of the transformer. In a conventional power transformer, load losses (LL) represent approximately 80% of total losses. Of this load loss, 80% are I2R losses. The remaining 20% consists of stray and eddy current losses. To date, efforts to reduce load losses have been directed toward the latter. Unlike copper and aluminum, superconductors present no resistance to the flow of dc electricity, with the consequence that I2R losses become essentially zero, thereby creating the potential for a dramatic reduction in overall losses. In ac operation, the superconductor in an HTS transformer experiences a type of eddy current loss: both the heat produced by this loss (although extremely small in comparison to the energy lost in conventional materials) and heat conducted into the lower temperature regions of the superconducting transformer need to be removed through refrigeration. Even with the added cost of refrigeration, HTS transformers in the 10 MVA and higher range are projected to be substantially more efficient and less expensive than their conventional counterparts. Motivation for developing superconducting transformers is not based solely on economic considerations of lowering total owning costs (initial capital cost + capitalized cost of load and no-load losses over the transformer's effective life). With limited new siting availability in urban areas, the anticipated 2% annual growth in power demand means that existing sites must be uprated with higher power capabilities. Many existing sites are indoors or adjacent to

buildings, which restricts the use of most oil-filled transformers. The inherent dangers of oil-filled devices are totally eliminated by application of superconducting technology where the only coolant required is benign (nitrogen as opposed to oil). Consequently, superconducting transformers operating either with a refrigerated coil or one cooled with liquid nitrogen pose no fire hazards and no threat to the environment comparable to that posed by leaks of flammable oils and toxic chemicals such as PCBs. Serious interest in superconducting transformers began in the early 1960s as reliable low temperature superconductors based on Nb-Ti and Nb3Sn became available. Analysis of the feasibility of such LTS transformers concluded that the high refrigeration loads required to keep the LTS materials at 4.2 K made the LTS transformers uneconomical. A major reduction in refrigeration costs and/or the discovery of materials that superconduct at much higher temperatures would be required to improve the economic attractiveness of these electric power applications. In the mid-1970s Westinghouse conducted an exhaustive design study of a 1,000 MVA, 550/22 kV generator stepup unit; it found that current transfer, overcurrent operation, and protection remained persistent problems. Since 1980, development of LTS transformers has been conducted primarily by ABB and GEC-Alsthom in Europe and by various utilities, industries, and universities in Japan. Advances in production of long-length ultrafine multifilamentary Nb-Ti conductor and high resistivity Cu-Ni matrix materials have assisted in the reduction of ac losses. Feasibility of weight reduction and higher efficiencies has been demonstrated on smaller devices with ratings smaller than 100 kVA: single-phase 80 kVA (Alsthom), 30 kVA (Toshiba), and a three-phase 40 kVA (Osaka University). Larger units have also been constructed and tested successfully. A single-phase 330 kVA transformer built by ABB included provisions for fault-current limiting and quench protection. Kansai Electric Power Company reported the development of an LTS transformer utilizing Nb3Sn conductor. One phase of this three-phase 2,000 kVA unit operated at 1,379 kVA without quenching and transferred fault current to parallel coils under quench condition. In a superconducting transformer the windings, made of a high temperature superconducting material (HTS), are cooled with liquid nitrogen at about 77K so that the resistance is almost negligible. Load, even after adding losses from nitrogen processing, can be reduced by 50%. The use of HTS transformers on a larger scale is economically justified and will become more attractive as cooling systems improve and the cost of liquid nitrogen production falls. Another important factor is progress in the processing of long lengths of HTS conductors. These transformers have smaller weight and volume and are more resistant to overload but cost about 150% to 200% of the price of conventional transformers. So, in applications where weight is crucial (railway vehicles), transformers are much more squeezed (by forced cooling) to cut the weight. So efficiencies are much lower, and saving weight saves energy twice. In our opinion, HTS transformers are suitable only in applications where the load losses make up a high proportion of the total losses, but are not yet ready for general use. SUPERCONDUCTING POWER TRANSMISSION CABLES Although the energy crisis of the 1970s is now past and demand has increased considerably, the motivation for developing HTS power transmission cables comes primarily from the need to increase the power-handling capabilities of existing underground circuits, which are filled to capacity. HTS cables not only offer a doubling of the power per circuit, they also provide an environmentally attractive solution, because a leak in an underground HTS system would cause the benign release of nitrogen, whereas a leak in existing oil-filled high voltage cables could result in devastating soil contamination. Where oil-filled cables are used underwater, such leaks could produce even greater environmental damage. Upgrading a power system by retrofitting existing ducts with HTS cables is most likely to occur in dense urban areas where the costs of trenching to install higher-capacity conventional systems would be prohibitive. In Tokyo, for instance, where demand for electric power is increasing at a rate of 2-3% per year, use of HTS cables is attractive since space is extremely limited and most underground ducts are filled to capacity. The opportunity in Tokyo alone provides a tremendous development incentive. There are ten large cable tunnels in Tokyo, each 20 km

long and each containing three cables. If these cables were replaced with HTS cables at the rate of only one of the three cables in several tunnels each year, the project would require 600 km of cable and last ten years. The HTS conductor alone needed for such a venture would exceed 100 million meters and represent a business opportunity of several billion dollars. And if the relative economic value of the joints and terminations required for the cable follows today's pattern, then the business opportunity for these cryogenic components is at least ten times greater than that of the conductor business itself. Development of LTS cables and cable concepts in the 1960s was pursued by industrial giants like Siemens, GEFrance, BICC, and Westinghouse, and by several academic and government laboratories, including important contributions from the Technical University of Graz, Austria, and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the United States (Giese 1993). In Japan, members of the MITI's Electro technical Laboratory carried out an economic study and concluded that superconducting cables were especially attractive for high power dc applications. Early test beds used LTS materials in a variety of configurations. In Germany, Linde studied the ac loss characteristics of rigid Nb tubes and built a 7-meter-long cryostat to measure these losses. Later the Linde team proposed a composite conductor of Nb, copper, and invar. In a collaborative program between the Technical University of Graz, AEG, Kabelmetal, and Linde (Munich), the superconductor was formed by coating the inner and outer walls of concentric corrugated tubes with a layer of Nb so that the layer on the outside of the smaller tube faced the Nb layer on the inside of the larger tube. The BNL project employed Nb3Sn superconducting tapes, and for the demonstration cable Intermagnetics General Corporation (IGC) manufactured a composite tape that had layers of copper, Nb3Sn, Nb, and stainless steel. This work resulted in design of a 1,000 MVA, 138 kV, 4,200 amp system and in a preliminary solution to the problem of terminations. Progress in phase two of this work went well; however, the project was terminated for economic reasons. High Temperature Superconducting Transmission Cables What are they? A High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) power cable is a wire-based device that carries large amounts of electrical current. There are two types of HTS cables. Warm Dielectric Cable The warm dielectric cable configuration features a conductor made from HTS wires wound around a flexible hollow core (figure 1). Liquid nitrogen flows through the core, cooling the HTS wire to the zero resistance state. The conductor is surrounded by conventional dielectric insulation. The efficiency of this design reduces losses.

Figure 1. Construction of a warm dielectric HTS cable.

Figure 2. Construction of a cryogenic dielectric HTS cable.

Cryogenic Dielectric Cable The cryogenic dielectric is a coaxial configuration comprising an HTS conductor cooled by liquid nitrogen flowing through a flexible hollow core and an HTS return conductor, cooled by circulating liquid nitrogen. This represents an enhancement to the warm dielectric design, providing even greater capacity, further reducing losses and entirely eliminating the need for dielectric fluids. Where and How are They Used? HTS transmission cables would be used for power transmission and distribution in urban areas throughout the United States and the world. What are the Benefits?

Can meet increasing power demands in urban areas via retrofit applications carrying two to five times more power than conventional cable Eliminates need to acquire new rights of way Replaces overhead transmission lines when environmental and other concerns prohibit their installation Enhanced overall system efficiency due to exceptionally low losses Increased utility system operating flexibility Reduced electricity costs

With an estimated 80,000 miles of existing underground cable throughout the world, High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cables will provide enormous benefits to a utility industry that is poised for growth and is faced with an ever rising demand for electricity faced with an ever rising demand for electricity and tightening constraints on siting flexibility. Conventional underground power transmission cables are utilized to transmit large amounts of power to congested urban areas. Conventional (copper-based) cables are capable of transmitting power (40 to 600 MVA) at high voltages (40 to 345 kV) through integrated underground duct systems. Existing duct systems limit the size of the conventional cables and the amount of power that can be transmitted through them. When will HTS Power Transmission Cables be Available? First HTS cable installation in a utility network is scheduled for the year 2000. The first HTS coaxial HTS cable demonstration is scheduled for that same year. The first commercial sales of HTS cable wires are expected shortly after 2001.

More about HTS Cables Superconducting cables can provide 2 to 5 times more power than conventional cables of the same size. Much more power can be moved using the existing right of way duct system in densely populated urban areas. No expensive and disruptive excavation and construction are required.

Figure 3. Underground superconducting wires for domestic usage can increase current carrying capacity over conventional copper-based power lines. A promising application for HTS cables will be to provide a high capacity electrical highway solution to overstressed transmission networks. With more power supply markets opening up due to utility deregulation, coupled with an ever-increasing demand for electricity, better electrical highways can be built to streamline the transportation of electricity from low cost generation suppliers to dense populated cities using smaller, higher capacity cables. Construction of HTS Cables Construction of the HTS cable uses traditional stranding techniques and equipment to wind HTS wires around a hollow core. Once liquid nitrogen is run through the hollow core to cool the HTS material, it becomes superconducting with significantly more current transport capacity than conventional copper-based cables. Why HTS Cables will become the Norm HTS cable systems will have the most immediate market acceptance for the following applications: Replacement of older cable systems past their rated life or with loads approaching the rating of the cable Replacement of existing overhead transmission lines with underground cable

Improvement of conventional transmission service links from Generation suppliers to Open Access customers High Power Distribution Another promising future application for HTS Cables will be High Power Distribution. Today, to increase a power supply to a urban area, utilities have to install transmission level voltage cables and utilize step-up (down) transformers at new substations. With stringent siting requirements and the unfavourable view of new substations in urban areas, an HTS cable will be able to transmit the same amount of power at distribution level voltages and eliminate the need for new substations. Types of HTS Cable Applications By design there are two types of HTS cable applications: Existing system upgrades New Systems

Existing System Upgrade In order to minimize replacement costs, the warm dielectric HTS cable is designed to fit within an existing duct

system. This cable design uses conventional dielectric insulation and is sized to easily install in the existing duct system. With the HTS wires surrounding the hollow core, the cable effectively becomes superconducting with a significantly higher capacity rating. New Systems The decision to choose an underground transmission cable rather than an overhead line system may include many factors such as; close proximity to heavy residential areas, size of the towers, fear of electro-magnetic frequencies (EMFs), and limitations on the existing infrastructure. With new duct systems, a coaxial cable system (comprised of one supply HTS conductor surrounding a flexible hollow core, and one return HTS conductor surrounding a cryogenic dielectric insulation) provides the best option with greater capacity and reduction in losses. Superconducting Rotating Machine Definition HTS motors or generators are manufactured by using high-temperature superconducting magnet and thus the efficiencies of motors and generators are increased and the weights are decreased so high efficiency and environmentally friendly power and electricity generations are possible. Technology Constitution Technology for Superconducting Rotating Machine Design and manufacturing technology of HTS rotor includes the HTS magnet optimization, design of bobbin structure and torque tube. Technology for Cryogenic cooling Neon re-condensing system, helium forced circulation system, the refrigerator mount system and efficient and reliable cooling system Technology for Performance Evaluation Rated test for motors and generators, long-term reliability assessment and cooling performance evaluation Technology for Application to the Real Power grid Operation of Superconducting Generator Power grid operation, control and maintenance technology of HTS generator

Technology Characteristics Light Weight and Large Capacity The weight and size of superconducting rotating machines can be reduced dramatically by using superconducting magnets. Large capacity superconducting offshore wind turbines are especially possible for a capacity of 10 MW or more. In large capacity equipments, they are gearless type and do not use gear box. Thus long-term reliability of the system is increased significantly. Low Loss and High Efficiency Losses can be reduced down to 67% and efficiency can be increased by 2%, compared to conventional motor. Eco-friendly The risks of overheating and insulation breakdown can be reduced by using a highly insulated air-core typed armature. Superconducting Cable Definition High-temperature superconducting power cable presents superconducting phenomenon at the liquid nitrogen environment. It has large transmission capacity, high-efficiency and eco-friendly characteristics. Technology Constitution Technology for Superconducting Cable Core Core design and manufacturing, Joint, Terminal design and manufacturing, and HTS wire manufacturing, Technology for Cryogenic Cryocooler and cooling facilities to cool the superconducting cable, cooling system installation and operation. Technology for the real Grid Operation Power grid system of superconducting cable and its installation, control, operation and maintenance. Technology for Performance Evaluation Sample test and performance evaluation after real grid application.

Technology Characteristics Small and Large Capacities AC superconducting cable can carry power more than five times of power compared to the conventional cable of the same size, and DC superconducting cable can have approximately 20 times more transmission capacity. High Efficiency AC superconducting cable has about 1/4 or less of the transmission loss and DC superconducting cable has only approximately 1/40 of the transmission loss compared to the conventional cable of the same capacity. Eco-Friendly Depending on the reduction of transmission losses, carbon dioxide emissions associated with power production can be reduced dramatically and any environmental pollutants such as insulating oil and SF6 gas used for conventional cable are not used. In addition, the superconducting cable has complete magnetic shielding performance and thus can fundamentally solve the electromagnetic environmental problem which has in conventional high voltage cable. Long-range Transmission Portion of charging current of the allowable current is small in AC superconducting cable. Therefore, the cable has that limitation of the transmission distance by charging current is small compared to the conventional cable and are advantageous for long-distance transmission. The resistance of DC superconducting cable is close to almost zero and thus the voltage drop caused by long-distance transmission is almost none. Superconducting transformer Definition High temperature superconducting transformer is the transformer which is replaced by superconducting wire instead of copper wire of ordinary transformer. Superconducting windings are cooled with liquid nitrogen and installed in a non-conductive cryogenic containers for thermal insulation against room temperature. The superconducting wire can flow 100 times more current than copper wire of the same unit area. The superconducting transformers are compact, lightweight, high-capacity, and high efficiency and have environmentally friendly power conversion because the transformers do not use insulation oil. Technology Constitution Technology for high current and low loss: Parallel conductor design and AC current loss reduction for high current flow of kA or above Technology for cryogenic cooling : Fabrication of non-conductive cryogenic containers and circulation cooling system of under-cooled liquid nitrogen for cooling of superconducting windings in liquid nitrogen Technology for cryogenic insulation : Insulation design which is essential for miniaturization in liquid nitrogen environment Technologies for application to the real system and operation of superconducting transformer : Power grid, installation, control, operation and maintenance of superconducting transformers

Technology Characteristics Compact and lightweight At above 30 MVA transformer, superconducting transformer is reduced more than 1/3 in weight and volume, compared to the conventional oil transformers. Large capacity The conventional transmission transformer capacity is limited by weight and volume. However, the capacity in superconducting transformer can be larger with increased capacity because of higher ratios of compact and light, compared to the conventional transformers. High efficiency Superconducting transformer can reduce current loss more than 1/4 than that of conventional transformers. Eco-friendly The insulating oil is essential for insulation and cooling of conventional transformer. But the transformer has disposal problems of spent transformers and fire hazard problems of overheating. The transformers maybe replaced with SF6 gas transformer. However the transformers are increased in size and also accompanies increases of greenhouse gas problem. Accordingly, superconducting transformers which use liquid nitrogen for cooling and insulation resolve environmental problems fundamentally. The liquid nitrogen can be obtained easily and costly by liquefying abundant nitrogen gas in the air. The air consists of 80% nitrogen gas and 20% oxygen gas.