Design considerations for an inductive high T/sub c/ superconducting fault current limiter

The authors investigate the design feasibility of an inductive iron core superconducting fault current limiter. A simplified thermo-electromagnetic analysis of the operating behavior of the fault current limiter is presented. This design is based on a high temperature superconducting shield surrounding a magnetic circuit with a primary winding generating an AC magnetic field. During fault conditions the field penetrates the core resulting in a large impedance, and thus a limitation of the fault current. In the analysis of this design, for voltages and currents up to 25 kV root-mean-square (RMS) and 2000 A RMS, it is shown that recuperation times for superconductors operating at liquid nitrogen temperatures are acceptable.<>