IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, VOL. 26, NO.
3, APRIL 2016
Characteristic Analysis of a Sample HTS Magnet for
Design of a 300 kW HTS DC Induction Furnace
J. Choi, S. K. Kim, S. Kim, K. Sim, M. Park, and I. K. Yu
Abstract—A large-scaled induction furnace for nonferrous
metal billets is operated with commercial frequency, and it does
not have such high energy efficiency of 50%–60% due to the
considerable energy loss of copper coils to generate magnetic
fields. Despite the additional efforts to improve the efficiency, it
has limitation to increase it, physically. In this paper, a design
specification for a 300-kW HTS dc induction furnace (HTS DC IF)
was presented, and the characteristic analysis of the sample HTS
magnet was conducted. The characteristic resistance, the charging
and the discharging time were calculated and measured. Detailed
investigations of the sample model on voltage characteristics of ten
voltage taps and temperature characteristics were conducted. The
test results will be applied to the full-scale HTS DC IF.
Index Terms—Cryogenics, HTS magnet, induction furnace,
metal insulation.
I. I NTRODUCTION
I NDUCTION heating provides fast, efficient contactless
heating of conductive materials. It is becoming one of the
preferred heating technologies in industrial [1], domestic [2],
medical [3], and other applications due to its advantages over
classical heating techniques such as flame or resistance heating
in traditional ovens or furnaces.
However, large-scaled induction furnaces for non-ferrous
metal billets operating at commercial frequency have an energy
efficiency of only 50∼60% due to the considerable loss from
the copper coils used to generate the magnetic fields. Efforts
to improve their efficiency are hampered by physical limits [4],
[5]. A novel DC induction heating method using HTS magnets
has been suggested for achieving higher energy efficiency
[6]–[8].
Since 2013, our research team has been developing a
10 kW-class prototype for an HTS DC induction furnace. We
have confirmed that it can achieve an energy conversion effi-
ciency of over 90%. It was the first proof-of-principle subscale
Manuscript received September 8, 2015; accepted January 8, 2016. Date
of publication February 8, 2016; date of current version February 16, 2016.
This work was supported by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and En-
ergy through the Power Generation and Electricity Delivery Core Technology
Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning
under Grant 20142020103940.
J. Choi, S. K. Kim, M. Park, and I. K. Yu are with the Department of Elec-
trical Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon 641-773, Korea
(e-mail: yuik@cwnu.ac.kr).
S. Kim is with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Changwon
National University, Changwon 641-773, Korea (e-mail: seokho@changwon.
ac.kr).
K. Sim is with the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon
642-120, Korea (e-mail: skedy@keri.re.kr).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TASC.2016.2524686
1051-8223 © 2016 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
3700405
device using a coated conductor and non-insulated (NI) HTS
magnet [9]–[11]. Subsequently, in 2014, Changwon National
University and TECHSTEEL initiated a project to develop a
300 kW-class HTS DC induction furnace with HTS magnets
that aims to achieve 90% energy efficiency within 3 years.
In the fabrication and operation of an HTS magnet, ensuring
thermal stability against uneven quench is the most important
factor. The NI winding method allows the HTS magnet to main-
tain the best thermal stability by distributing the quench energy
evenly [12], [13]. The NI HTS magnet has the characteristic
resistance connected to the inductance of the magnet in parallel.
It acts to control the charging and discharging time. In our
previous research, the characteristic resistance was measured at
about 100, and it required 2,300 s to charge the current of the
NI HTS magnet to about 230 mH with the maximum magnetic
flux density.
For this paper, we employed the winding method of metal
insulation (MI) using stainless steel to reduce the long charging
and discharging time. A sample HTS magnet was designed and
fabricated with the MI method and its characteristic analysis
was conducted. The characteristic resistance was measured at
2.9 mΩ and the charging and time constant of the discharging
mode was calculated at 2.5 s. When the higher current than
critical current flowed to the sample magnet, detailed investi-
gations through voltage and temperature characteristic analysis
were conducted.
On the basis of the characteristic analysis results of the
sample magnet, the practical implementation of 2G HTS tech-
nology for commercial application has been studied for various
designs of a 300 kW HTS DC induction furnace (HTS DC IF)
and an optimal design specification is now presented.
II. D ESIGN OF THE HTS M AGNET WITH M ETAL
I NSULATION M ETHOD
A. Design and Specifications of the Magnet
A half-scale HTS magnet with a non-insulated method was
designed to study the feasibility of the 300 kW-class HTS DC
IF as shown in Fig. 1. The 3D model of the sample magnet
at half scale with principal dimensions is shown. In the right-
hand side drawing, the positions of the HTS tape windings are
indicated in yellow. A co-winding method using both HTS and
stainless steel tape was applied to the magnet. The detailed
design specifications of the magnet are presented in Table I.
HTS tape with a critical current of 365 A from SuNAM (Korean
manufacturing company) was used. The magnet was assembled
with two single pancake coils, which were each wound with
50 turns. A total tape length of 134 m was used for the magnet.
3700405
Fig. 1. Designed half-scale HTS magnet with a noninsulated method.
TABLE I
D ESIGN S PECIFICATIONS OF A S AMPLE HTS M AGNET
W ITH M ETAL I NSULATION
Fig. 2. Perpendicular magnetic flux density and the magnitude of the magnetic
field of the sample HTS magnet in FEM simulation.
B. FEM Analysis of the Magnet
Based on the design specifications, a FEM analysis model of
the magnet was developed. A Bz -component of the perpendic-
ular magnetic flux density is displayed using color distribution
and the arrow indicates the current direction of the magnet as
shown in Fig. 2. The maximum perpendicular magnetic flux
density was 0.38 T at a current of 200 A. The magnitude of
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, VOL. 26, NO. 3, APRIL 2016
Fig. 3. Equivalent circuit and major parameters for the circuit simulation.
Fig. 4. Circuit simulation results of the noninsulated HTS magnet according to
the variable characteristic resistance.
the magnetic flux density along the y-axis of the magnet model
according to the operating current is presented in Fig. 2. The
critical current of the magnet was estimated to be 180 A.
C. Circuit Analysis of the Magnet
Fig. 3 shows the equivalent circuit of the magnet and the
major parameters of the circuit simulation. The meanings of
the parameters are given below.
Iop : Operating current
Ls : Inductance of the magnet
Rs : Initial series resistance of the magnet
Rp : Characteristic resistance connected to the magnet in
parallel
τ: Time constant of the magnet
We performed the circuit simulation of the non-insulated
HTS magnet according to the variable characteristic resistance.
The results are shown in Fig. 4. If the characteristic resistance
connected to the coil in parallel increases, the charging and
discharging time decreases. This means that maximum charac-
teristic resistance of the NI coil makes the magnet realize more
stable operation and higher speed of charging and discharging.
In the case of this magnet, the inductance is 7.7 mH, which
is not too high a value. The time constant in the R-L parallel
circuit is calculated by the rate of the inductance over the
resistance. The larger the inductance of the HTS magnet, the
higher characteristic resistance is needed.
III. FABRICATION AND E XPERIMENTAL O PERATION
OF THE M AGNET
Through the FEM results and circuit simulation, the oper-
ational characteristics of the NI magnet were analyzed. Then
the HTS magnet with a metal insulation based on the design
specifications was fabricated.
CHOI et al.: CHARACTERISTIC ANALYSIS OF SAMPLE HTS MAGNET FOR DESIGN OF HTS DC IF 3700405

Fig. 5. Steps (Pre-assembly, winding, assembly, sensor installation and exper-

iment) in the fabrication process. Fig. 6. Voltage and magnetic flux density over time in experiment.

A. Fabrication Process
The fabrication process is detailed in the sequence of pictures
in Fig. 5. In picture 1, the parts were processed and trial
assembly conducted. The winding of the two single pancakes
proceeded as shown in picture 2. Then the final assembly
was performed as seen in pictures 3 and 4. We installed
16 thermocouples, 13 voltage taps, and a magnetic field sensor
to the magnet as shown in pictures 5 and 6. The research
team constructed the experimental setup for the magnet test and
conducted the experiment under liquid nitrogen as depicted in Fig. 7. Charging and discharging test results.
pictures 7 and 8.
resistance Rp was calculated to 2.9 mΩ. As shown in Fig. 6, the
voltage and the magnetic flux density over time were measured
B. Characteristic Resistance Calculation
when the input current flowing into the magnet approaches
As mentioned in the previous section, circuit simulation was 47.6 A. The characteristic resistance of the HTS magnet for
conducted. The characteristic resistance is one of the most the 300 kW HTS DC IF is estimated through this calculated
important factors. We need to know the value of the resistance characteristic resistance and used for the design and fabrication
during the design stage before the HTS magnet is fabricated. tuning.
However, the combined resistance of the NI HTS magnet circuit
cannot be calculated easily and exactly. There are two reasons C. Charging and Discharging Test Results
for this. The first is that the path of the bypassing current is
covered over. Second, the contact resistance between the HTS When the charging test began, the input current was divided
tape and SUS tape is not uniform in all the turns of the magnet. into two sections according to the voltage ratio between the
Thus, it is difficult to estimate the resistance precisely during inductor and the characteristic resistance. The time delay before
the design stage. Therefore, we need to measure the operating full charging status is a result of the characteristic resistance
characteristic of the HTS magnet after it is fabricated, and of the magnet. When the discharging test began, the voltage
then it can be calculated. The characteristic resistance Rp is of the magnet was inversely applied and the magnetic energy
calculated by the rate of the inductance Ls divided by the time was discharged. Charging and discharging tests were performed
constant, τ as in (1). The inductance voltage Vs is calculated when the current was ramped up to 1.03 A/s and the maxi-
as in (3). The coil voltage Vc includes the voltage VRs by the mum input current was 172 A, and the results were presented
series resistance Rs of 40 μΩ. in Fig. 7.

Ls D. Critical Current Measurement

Rp = (1)
τ
Vs The magnetic flux density and coil voltage according to
Ls =   (2) the current are presented here. The comparison between the
dIop
dt results of the magnetic flux density of the FEM and our
experimental results on the voltage tap length of 134 m are
Vs = Vc − VRs (3) shown in Fig. 8. The current flowing into the characteristic
τ = t(V1 =Vc ) − tV0 (4) resistance increases, and the amount of heat also increases.
At the same time, the magnetic flux density at the center of
V1 = Rs · t + 63.2% Vc (5) the magnet decreased. Ten voltage taps on the HTS magnet
V0 = 0. (6) were installed. Voltage rise from series resistance at the two
voltage taps located in S1V1 and S2V2 occurred as shown in
The inductance voltage Vs was calculated to 7.5 mV. The Fig. 9. In actuality, HTS tape does not have resistance under DC
time constant τ was calculated to 2.5 s. Inductance of the current operation. At the locations of the resistance rise, a part
magnet Ls was calculated to 7.3 mH and the characteristic of the HTS magnet winding from 0 to 10 turns was damaged.
3700405
Fig. 8. Critical current curve of the sample HTS magnet.
Fig. 9. Ten-voltage-tap characteristics installed on the HTS magnet.
Fig. 10. Temperature characteristics of the sample HTS magnet under the
quench.
This damage can prevent the magnet from reaching the target
cooling temperature by increasing its heat load under cryogenic
operation.
E. Overcurrent Test
Before the quench, all temperatures are constant at 77 K
when the current flows in the magnet. After the quench, the
operating current bypasses to the other turns across the SUS
insulation layers, and a temperature rise is noted at several
thermocouples. When the input current was kept constant for
about 8 minutes after the quench, the partial temperature rise in
the magnet occurred as shown in Fig. 10. This means that the
current bypassed across the SUS insulation layer and did not
flow along the HTS tape. The positions where thermocouples
were installed are shown in Fig. 11. The maximum temperature
at the TS1-4 position rose to 87.5 K within the liquid nitrogen.
This indicates that Joule heating in the HTS magnet was contin-
uously increasing. Thermocouples which detected temperature
rise were located at TS1-3, TS1-4, TS1-5, TS2-3, and TS2-4.
After the quench, the operating current bypassed to the other
turns across the SUS insulation layer. Because of the bypassing
current, heat loads in the magnet increased and the temperature
rose at the indicated positions as shown in Fig. 12.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, VOL. 26, NO. 3, APRIL 2016
Fig. 11. Thermocouples and voltage taps of the fabricated HTS magnet.
Fig. 12. Magnetic flux density, coil voltage, and temperature characteristics
under the overcurrent test.
Fig. 13. Conceptual design of an HTS magnet for a 300-kW HTS DC IF and
an electromagnetic model.
IV. D ESIGN OF THE HTS M AGNET FOR THE
300 kW HTS DC IF
A. Design Model of the HTS Magnet
This is a feasibility study. Our final target is the development
of an HTS magnet for a 300 kW HTS DC IF. In the previous
section, we describe the magnet design as shown in Fig. 13.
There are a couple of HTS magnets connected in series in the
cryostat.
B. Design Specifications
Detailed specifications for the HTS magnets of the 300 kW
HTS DC IF are presented in Table II. The targeted operating
current is 440 A at an operating temperature of 30 K with the
ratio of operating current to critical current at 0.85. The induc-
tance is 1.73 H with an iron core at 440 A. The characteristic
resistance needs to be over 173 mΩ to ensure a time constant
less than or equal 10 s. The total length of the HTS tape used
for the magnet is about 3.4 km and the total number of turns is
300 in a single pancake.
CHOI et al.: CHARACTERISTIC ANALYSIS OF SAMPLE HTS MAGNET FOR DESIGN OF HTS DC IF
TABLE II
D ESIGN S PECIFICATIONS OF A P RACTICAL HTS M AGNET W ITH M ETAL
I NSULATION FOR THE 300 kW HTS DC IF
V. C ONCLUSION
We applied the winding method of metal insulation using
stainless steel to an HTS magnet. A sample HTS magnet was
designed and fabricated. Then the characteristic analysis of
the magnet was conducted. The characteristic resistance was
measured to 2.9 mΩ in the experiment. In the case of an HTS
magnet with 7.3 mH, this characteristic resistance does not pose
any problem. However, an HTS magnet for a 300 kW HTS
DC IF has a large inductance of 1.73 H. The characteristic
resistance of 2.9 mΩ causes the charging and discharging
time to increase greatly. The characteristic resistance has to be
increased sufficiently for an HTS magnet for a 300 kW HTS
DC IF. We plan to perform many additional studies on the
increasing methods of the characteristic resistance.
Consequently, based on the characteristic analysis results
of the magnet, the practical implementation of 2G HTS
3700405
technology for commercial applications has been studied for
various designs of a 300 kW HTS DC induction furnace, and
optimal design specifications have been presented.
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