Modeling of AC Loss in Coils Made of Thin Tapes Under DC Bias Current

Many applications, such as magnets and superconducting magnetic energy storage systems, are usually charged and discharged under a bias dc current, which may increase the ac loss. For their design, it is necessary to understand and predict the ac loss. This article analyzes the ac loss in magnet-like coils under dc bias contribution superimposed to the ac current. The analysis is based on a numerical model that takes the interaction between magnetization currents in all turns into account. The studied example is a stack of 32 pancake coils with 200 turns each made of thin tape, such as ReBCO-coated conductor. We present the current density, the instantaneous power loss, and loss per cycle. We have found that the loss increases with the dc bias current. The instantaneous power loss is the largest in the initial rise of the ac current. In the following cycles, the power loss is higher in the current increase than in the decrease. The loss per cycle is the largest at the end pancakes. In conclusion, the highest cooling power should be supplied to the top and bottom pancakes and during current rise, specially the initial one. The presented model has a high potential to predict the ac loss in magnet-size coils, useful for their design.