25 kV/40 kA Protection Inductor for Capacitor Bank of the Wuhan Pulsed High Magnetic Field Facility

A 25 kV/40 kA protection inductor with low stray field was designed and the first prototype was fabricated. The protection inductor protected the thyristor switch in the capacitor bank, limit the current at 40 kA in case of a short circuit. It was designed as a toroidal system consisting of 12 coils evenly distributed in the perimeter of a circle. The inductance could be changed easily by adjusting the number of coils. The structure of coils was optimized to withstand the great electromagnetic force produced by the 40 kA current. The coils were wound by a 4 45 mm copper strip standing on edge. Each coil was externally reinforced by a stainless steel ring tightly enclosing the coil. The first prototype was fabricated. Its inductance and magnetic field were tested. The prototype has been mounted in the 1 MJ module and is now in operation. In this paper, the structure design, fabrication and testing of a new protection inductor are presented. The testing results are discussed. Tested inductance was 1.05 mH and direct resistance was 16 . The first prototype was proved to be successful and 13 more protection inductors will be made after some improvements.