Superconducting Electrical Machines - State of the Art

Abstract

The paper contains a review of recent advancements in high temperature superconducting (HTS) machines. With the discovery of HTS cuprate-perovskite ceramic materials in 1986, the United States almost immediately resurrected interest in superconducting applications. The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have taken the lead in research and development of HTS electric machines and other HTS electric power applications. Recent developments in HTS electrical machines in Europe and Japan have been summarized too. The paper considers only those developments in HTS machines, which have been completed with working prototypes that passed laboratory tests. Fundamentals of superconductivity, HTS 1st generation (BSCCO) wires, 2nd generation (YBCO) wires and bulk HTS have been included.