HTS Cable Assembly Resilient Support Members Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-current, lightweight conductors used in applications like aluminum production and naval ships face issues with degradation due to vibration, leading to insulation wear and potential short circuits in high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire bundles within flexible cryostats.
Innovation Solution
The use of resilient support members with helical slits, positioned between the HTS conductors and the cryostat, maintains the conductors in a spaced-apart relationship, providing radial and longitudinal support while allowing coolant flow and accommodating sensor leads, thereby preventing degradation and short circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the inner diameter of the cryostat is made larger than the outer dimension of the HTS wire bundle to facilitate assembly and provide coolant flow path, then assembly ease and coolant flow are improved, but the conductors become loose and subject to vibration which causes insulation degradation and potential short circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces support members as intermediary elements between the HTS wire bundle and the cryostat wall. These support members maintain the bundle in a centered, spaced-apart position while allowing coolant flow through the annular space, thereby preventing direct contact and vibration-induced insulation degradation while preserving assembly ease and coolant circulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The support members are designed with flexible characteristics, allowing them to accommodate thermal contraction and expansion of the HTS wire bundle while maintaining stable positioning. This flexibility ensures continuous support without causing stress or damage to the bundle insulation during thermal cycling.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional large diameter copper or aluminum wires are used to transmit high current, then current carrying capacity is improved, but the cables become heavy, bulky, and inflexible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of conductor material from conventional copper or aluminum to high-temperature superconducting materials. This parameter change enables the conductors to carry high currents with significantly reduced weight and increased flexibility, as superconducting materials can transmit much higher current densities without resistive heating losses.
Solution Approach 2:
The HTS wire bundle is constructed as a composite structure with multiple superconducting strands arranged in a bundled configuration, surrounded by insulation and support structures. This composite design optimizes both current carrying capacity and mechanical properties including flexibility and weight reduction compared to solid conventional conductors.
3Ease of manufacture
If the HTS wire bundle is allowed to move freely within the cryostat, then assembly is simplified, but vibration causes insulation wear and degradation leading to short circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The support members serve as intermediary structures that provide gentle, distributed support to the HTS wire bundle along its length. This intermediary support system prevents direct contact between the bundle and the cryostat wall, eliminating vibration-induced wear points while maintaining assembly simplicity through the use of straightforward support structures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances the durability and reliability of HTS cable assemblies by reducing insulation wear and preventing conductor-to-conductor or conductor-to-cryostat short circuits, ensuring consistent high-current transmission.
Implementation Method 1
Each support member includes a tube having an opening, the opening configured to provide the tube with longitudinal resiliency. The support members are resilient so as to maintain the conductors in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to an interior wall of the cryostat.
Data Source
AI summary
An HTS cable assembly is provided which includes a cryostat or housing, an HTS wire bundle disposed longitudinally within the cryostat, and plural support members disposed between the HTS wire bundle and the cryostat. The support members are elongate, tubular members having resiliency in both the axial and radial directions. The support members are disposed between the HTS wire bundle and the inner surface of the cryostat in an arrangement that maintains and supports the HTS wire bundle in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the inner surface of the cryostat. In addition, the plural support members are configured to substantially prevent relative movement between the HTS wire bundle and the cryostat.