A two-phase full-wave superconducting rectifier

A two-phase full-wave superconducting rectifier has been developed as a small cryogenic power supply of superconducting magnets for magnetically levitation trains. Those magnets will be operated in the persistent current mode. However, small ohmic loss caused at resistive joints, and AC loss induced by the vibration of the train cannot be avoided. Therefore, the low-power cryogenic power supply will be required to compensate for the reduction in magnet current. The superconducting rectifiers consists of two identical full-wave rectifiers connected in series. The main components of each rectifier are a toroidal superconducting setup transformer and two thermally controlled switches. The test results using a 47.5-mH-load magnet at 0.2 Hz and 0.5 Hz operations are described. To estimate the characteristics of the superconducting rectifier, the authors have developed a simulation code. From the experiments and the simulations, the transfer efficiency is determined