Modular high capacity current lead
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current lead designs for superconducting magnets face challenges in efficiently conveying high electrical power from room temperature to cryogenic temperatures due to permanent and irreparable brazing methods, which can lead to leaks and increased costs, and require large facilities for cooling and testing.
Innovation Solution
The use of modular current leads with indium wire for electrical and thermal joints, allowing for vacuum sealing, rapid disassembly, and repair, along with a heat exchanger and boiling chamber for temperature regulation, enabling efficient and reliable connection and separation of cryogenic components from room temperature power sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If brazing is used to join current lead components, then electrical and thermal connections are established, but the joints become permanent and irreparable, leading to increased costs and schedule risks from leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The current lead system is divided into modular sections (room-temperature terminal, heat exchanger, superconducting section) that can be independently assembled and disassembled. Indium wire connections allow these modules to be separated and reconnected without permanent bonding, enabling repair and replacement while maintaining reliable electrical and thermal paths.
Solution Approach 2:
Indium wire is used instead of brazing materials, changing the physical state and properties of the connection. Indium's low melting point and high ductility allow for reversible, non-destructive connections that can be repeatedly assembled and disassembled while maintaining electrical and thermal conductivity, eliminating the irreparability issue of brazed joints.
2Temperature
If large facilities are used for cooling and testing superconducting magnets, then adequate cooling capacity is provided, but costs and space requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is integrated directly into the current lead structure, merging the cooling function with the electrical connection function. This eliminates the need for separate, large-scale cooling facilities by providing localized heat exchange at the point where thermal management is most critical, thereby reducing overall system complexity and space requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The current lead structure itself provides the cooling function through integrated heat exchangers that utilize the cryogenic environment. The system serves its own cooling needs without requiring external, large-scale cooling infrastructure, as the current lead components actively participate in heat removal from the superconducting section.
3Productivity
If modular design with indium wire is used, then rapid disassembly and repair are enabled, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The current lead is designed as modular sections connected by indium wire joints, allowing rapid assembly and disassembly of standard modules. While the connection method is more complex than simple welding, the standardization of modules offsets this complexity through repeatability, enabling faster overall assembly compared to custom-brazed designs.
Solution Approach 2:
Indium wire serves as an intermediary material that simplifies the connection process between modules. Its softness and conformability allow for easier alignment and connection compared to rigid brazing operations, reducing the skill level and equipment complexity required while enabling rapid assembly and disassembly of modular sections.
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
This solution reduces costs and schedule risks by enabling non-destructive testing and maintenance, improving thermal stability, and allowing for efficient operation of high-temperature superconductors, while minimizing the need for large cooling facilities.
Implementation Method 1
indium wire is used to connect certain cryogenic components of the current lead. Indium wire electrical and thermal joints and vacuum seals are highly reliable
Implementation Method 2
Indium wire electrical and thermal joints and vacuum seals are highly reliable, cryogenically friendly, and are fully repairable
Implementation Method 3
The dual-purpose heat exchanger, providing both transmission of electrical current and simultaneous passage of a gaseous coolant
Implementation Method 4
a boiling chamber. The room-temperature portion may be configured to physically and electrically couple to one or more room-temperature power supply lines
Data Source
AI summary
A high capacity current lead (10) comprises components that are electrically coupled using indium joints. The current lead includes a heat exchanger having a portion at room temperature (100) and a portion (200) within a vacuum cryostat. The room-temperature portion is temperature controlled against both overheating and over-cooling. The cryogenic portion (200) of the heat exchanger is electrically coupled to a coolant boiling chamber (300) using indium joints. The boiling chamber (300) has a lid and a base that may be electrically coupled using indium joints, or they may be brazed. The boiling chamber (300) is surrounded by a vacuum lid that may be electrically coupled to the base using indium joints, or brazed. The base is electrically coupled to a superconductor module (400) having high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tapes for conveying current to a device, such as a superconducting electromagnet.