Transient Characteristic Analysis of a Tri-Axial HTS Power Cable Using PSCAD/EMTDC

The characteristics of the tri-axial high temperature superconducting (HTS) power cable are different from a general copper cable, depending on whether the cable is under steady state or transient state, which is caused by quench. Before applying the tri-axial HTS power cable to a real utility, the system should be analyzed using certain simulation tools in order to confirm the effects of the cable on the real utility. However, a component that has the same impedance characteristics as the real tri-axial HTS power cable is not provided in simulation tools. In this paper, a model component for the tri-axial HTS power cable was developed in PSCAD/EMTDC. The developed model component included characteristics of the HTS cable, such as resistance, reactance, and temperature variation. The model component for the tri-axial HTS power cable was applied to a model power system and a simulation was performed under transient state. The simulation results show the effect of the tri-axial HTS power cable on the power system, the variation of quench resistance, and the temperature of the cable under fault conditions according to superconducting characteristics. The results of this work will be used to analyze the transient characteristics of other types of HTS power cables.