Proceedings of the National Conference on Cryogenics for Space (NCCS-2019)

December 12-14, 2019, LPSC, Thiruvananthapuram, India.

NCCS-2019-1082

A Review on Design Aspects for Development of High

Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Synchronous Machines
V A S Muralidhar Bathula1*, D K Sharma1, Abhay S Gour2, U K Choudhury1, V V Rao2

1BHELCorporate R&D Division, Vikasnagar, Hyderabad 500 093, India

2Cryogenic Engineering Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal - 721 302, India
*Corresponding Author: bmuralidhar@bhel.in

ABSTRACT superconductivity. Synchronous machines with HTS

windings shows various advantages like increase in power
This paper presents the details of High Temperature density, reduction in mass, increase in efficiency at all
Superconducting (HTS) synchronous machines for various operating loads - down to even 5% of full load, very low
industrial and strategic applications. The researchers and acoustic noise, good transient stability, low synchronous
industries around the globe have successfully demonstrated reactance, small load angle, enhanced grid stability, low
and tested many HTS synchronous machines with various harmonic content, increased fatigue reliability, lower life-
topologies. A brief account on some of these promising cycle cost, reduced capital cost, and less maintenance over
topologies along with their pros and cons has been presented. conventional copper wound machines [1,2].
Various electrical, mechanical and thermal design aspects
taken into considerations while designing a typical HTS
synchronous machines have also been discussed. The
worldwide developments in HTS synchronous machines are
also presented.
Keywords: High Temperature Superconducting Machines,
HTS Synchronous Machines

INTRODUCTION

The discovery of high temperature superconductors (HTS)

in 1986 has brought a landmark revolution in the development
of superconducting machines. Since then, the discovery of
superconducting materials with even higher critical
temperatures was going on over the past century as shown in
figure 1. Nowadays the high temperature superconductors can
operate with very high current densities along with
unprecedentedly higher temperature ranges at self as well as
external magnetic fields. The wider operating temperature
ranges (25K to 77K) of HTS tapes along with simplifications
in cryocooling systems have grabbed the attention of multiple
industries exploring the applicability of unique characteristics
of superconducting machines like high degree of
compactness, higher efficiency, larger torque to weight ratio
etc.
In general, synchronous machine rotates at constant speed
and depending on applications, it can be operated as motor,
generator or synchronous condenser. It has stator with AC
three phase winding and rotor with DC field winding.
By using HTS tapes in place of conventional copper
winding, the copper losses (I2R losses) can be practically
eliminated, since the winding resistance is zero due to
Figure 1. Discovery of HTS materials with successively
higher critical temperatures over past century
Due to commercially available long length HTS tapes,
availability of higher capacity cryocoolers and advantages of
HTS technology, the researchers focused on development of
HTS synchronous machines for various applications like low
speed ship propulsion motors, low speed wind generators,
high speed turbo generators, high speed air craft propulsion
motors etc. These developments also showed the extreme
reduction in machine size and weight, higher efficiency, lower
noise and better operating characteristics at various
applications.
In this paper, globally available various design topologies of
high temperature superconducting (HTS) machines have been
reviewed and discussed with their pros and cons. The
worldwide developments in HTS synchronous machines also
presented. The electromagnetic, mechanical, thermal
(cryogenic) and vacuum system design aspects for developing
a typical HTS synchronous machine consisting air core copper
wound stator and HTS rotor are discussed.
APPLICATIONS OF HTS SYNCHRONOUS
MACHINES
There are a series of applications utilizing various special
features of electrical machines. Some of power utility motors
and generators look for ease of operation along with higher
efficiency, while aerospace and marine applications aim for
light weight and compactness with pretty good efficiencies.
On the other hand, wind electricity generation calls for electric
generators having low weight, compact size and high
efficiency. Among all, each application stresses upon high
reliability and low maintenance during operation.
The discovery of high temperature superconductors (HTS)
made it possible to proliferate the usage of superconductivity
in various types and topologies of electrical machine. Now
superconducting machines can be operated between 25 K and
77 K, the cryogenic cooling system has simplified a lot. This
allowed the development of many experimental and full-scale
electric machines right from electrical utility to aerospace
applications utilizing various benefits offered by
superconductivity. There were attempts to make motors and
generators of various speed, for example very low speed (upto
10 rpm) generators for wind applications, low speed motors
(100-250 rpm) for marine propulsion, medium to high speed
(1800 to 3000 rpm and even above) motors and generators for
electric utility etc. The key benefits utilised by all industries
with these HTS machines are light weight, small size and high
efficiency.
The power industry utilizes many benefits of
superconducting machines like compact sizes, smaller
weights, higher efficiencies even at partial loads, low
synchronous reactance offering better stability and smaller
voltage regulation etc. On the other hand, low synchronous
and sub-synchronous reactances cause large short circuit
currents. The light weight of HTS machine constrains the
transient response to some extent [3].
Wind application generators operate at very low speeds;
hence, their size is enormously large. Also, the weight of
generator, turbine and gearbox put together is so large that the
design of tower on which they are mounted is highly complex
and bulky. The compact size and lower weight offered by HTS
machines can not only reduce the load on its tower, it can also
be directly coupled with low speed turbine. The efficiency of
HTS machine is quite high rightly from lightly loaded
condition to full load condition. Also, it has potential to reduce
the complexity and bulkiness of towers which can further
reduce the capital cost involved in wind power production [4].
Strategic applications like marine propulsion and aerospace
industry look for very low weight along with compact size for
their main propulsion system. Marine propulsion, in addition,
requires low noise and vibration levels. The cylindrical rotor
design of HTS motor offers inherently very low acoustic noise
and vibrations. Since the marine propulsion motors are
required to run at very low speeds, the high efficiency along
with compact size make it a suitable candidate all this kind of
systems [5,6]. Moreover, for aerospace industry, the speed
requirement for generators as well as motors is still higher.
These motors and generators are supposed to run at several
thousand rpm [7]. Around the globe, several attempts have
been tried with various topologies to meet these high-end
requirements. In both marine and aerospace applications, the
metallic components involved in the system must be designed
for reduced mass on board.
VARIOUS TOPOLOGIES OF HTS SYNCHRONOUS
MACHINE
In the conventional electric machine, the highest operating
magnetic flux density is limited by the saturation flux density
of core material, while in case of superconducting field
windings in air core configuration, the operating magnetic flux
density is limited by the peak value of parallel and
perpendicular magnetic fields generated by it. This very high
magnetic flux density offers higher torque density in the
superconducting machine. On the other hand, if magnetic core
design is adopted for superconducting coils, then amount of
wire required to generate the required magnetic field is quite
low because of higher magnetic permeability of core with
respect to air.
The torque transmission poses a challenge in air cored
systems because the electromagnetic forces experienced by
superconducting field coils have to be transferred to a room
temperature warm shaft through a lower thermal conductivity
torque tube. In magnetic cored design, the generated torque is
easily transmitted through the warm steel or magnetic alloy
shaft.
There are mainly two design configurations for stator of HTS
synchronous machines, viz. classical magnetic core based
copper windings or air gap based copper windings. In case of
stator with magnetic core having high permeability material,
there is a possibility to retrofit existing machines with HTS
rotor which can also be upgraded with classical approaches for
increased machine rating. But moderately low saturation flux
densities of commercially available core materials put a limit
on improvements in machine rating.
The air gap based copper windings design is best suited
scheme for getting the full advantage of HTS Technology. It
consists of non–magnetic air core stator where copper
windings are placed in the air gap between stator (yoke) and
superconducting rotor without any magnetic teeth. Mostly the
stator slots are carved out of composite fibre-reinforced plastic
(FRP) based materials which offer almost same magnetic
permeability as of air. Though the required length of HTS wire
and associated costs are high, this configuration gives
unmatchable compactness and weight in MW class power
machines. This is possible due to unprecedentedly high
magnetic flux densities offered by superconducting coils.
Since stator teeth and slots are made of thermally insulating
material, thermal management of stator has to be meticulously
deliberated.
There are various topologies developed for HTS
synchronous machine across the globe by several academia
and industries. Considering all of them, there are three broad
categories, first rotor having superconducting coils on solid
shaft along with stator having copper windings, second rotor
having superconducting coils on hollow shaft along with stator
having copper windings and third both rotor and stator having
superconducting windings. The first two can be termed as
semi-superconducting or partially superconducting topologies
and the third one can be termed as fully-superconducting
topology. There are many other configurations and topologies
specific to various applications like marine, wind power,
industries, aviation etc.
In the first semi-superconducting topology where rotor is
having superconducting coils on solid shaft and stator is
having copper windings, there can be two further topologies
viz solid shaft warm rotor configuration and solid shaft cold
rotor configuration. In solid shaft warm rotor configuration,
warm rotor implies that magnetic core of the machine is kept
at ambient temperature and only superconducting field coils
are cryocooled. The primary advantage offered by this
configuration is lesser cold mass and application of cryocooler
with reduced capacity. Also, the cool down time needed to
cool the superconducting coils of machine from ambient
temperature to operating cryogenic temperature is shortened.
This configuration is mostly suited to large size turbo-
generators. Care must be taken in mechanical and thermal
design of rotor to connect a cryogenically cooled complex
superconducting field coil support structure to ambient
temperature solid shaft. Figure 2 shows the schematic of solid
shaft HTS rotor.
Figure 2. Schematic of solid shaft warm rotor configuration
(1-HTS coil, 2-rotor body, 3-vacuum enclosure, 4-
electromagnetic shield, 5-spacer, 6-oil seal lands, 7-bearing
center, 8-coupling flange, 9-turbine end stub shaft flange, 10-
colletor end stub shaft flange, 11-collector and cryogenic
connections) [8]
In solid shaft cold rotor configuration, cold rotor implies that
in addition to cryocooling superconducting field coils,
magnetic core of the machine is also maintained at cryogenic
temperature. In this case, the cryogenic cooling circuit is little
simpler because the superconducting field coils are
mechanically embraced in rotor core. Now, since the cold
mass is more, the required capacity of cryocooler is also more.
This also give rise to cool-down time required to cool the
superconducting coils of machine from ambient temperature
to operating cryogenic temperature. Figure 3 shows the
schematic of solid shaft cold HTS rotor.
Figure 3. Schematic of solid shaft cold rotor configuration
(1-pole core (ferromagnetic material), 2-pole shoe
(ferromagnetic material), 3- HTS coil, 4-coil spacers, 5-cold
electromagnetic shield (oxygen free Cu Inconnel 718), 6- rotor
yoke (ferromagnetic material), 7-stainless non-magnetic
bushing, 8- end disk (stainless non-magnetic steel), 9-support
of HTS end connections (nonmagnetic and nonconductive
material) [8]
In the second semi-superconducting topology where rotor is
having superconducting coils on hollow shaft and stator is
having copper windings, the support structure and cryogenic
circuit for superconducting field coils are made of non-
magnetic materials so that design can be followed considering
fully air-cored machine [8].
Figure 4. Schematic of hollow shaft rotor configuration (1-
HTS coil, 2-torque tube, 3-electromagnetic shield, 4-turbine
end shaft, 5-collector end shaft, 6-transfer coupling) [8]
The superconducting field coils are either conduction or
convection cooled. Current research thrust is on this type of
configuration. Because of non-saturation of core,
superconductivity can be utilized at its best in magnetic flux
density and torque density aspects. Though removing the
magnetic core introduces complexities and challenges in the
design of cryogenic circuit and support structure for
superconducting field coils, there is another major challenge
in torque transmission from superconducting coils to warm
rotor shafts. Figure 4 shows the schematic of air core hollow
shaft HTS rotor configuration.
In the third fully-superconducting topology where rotor field
and stator armature both are having superconducting coils,
armature electrical loading can also be increased noticeably
and a considerably high efficiency can be attained by
significantly reducing the armature copper losses. Machines
having this type of configuration are projected to be superior
to the semi-superconducting machines. An example
configuration being pursued by NASA is shown in figure 5.
Figure 5. Image of fully superconducting machine
configuration being developed by NASA[10]
DESIGN ASPECTS FOR HTS SYNCHRONOUS conducting support structure for the copper armature winding
MACHINE DEVELOPMENT is located inside the frame.
The armature copper winding lies just outside the air gap. It
Development of HTS synchronous machine calls for multi- must be constructed from transposed conductors to reduce
physics environment based approach involving various circulating current losses. In conventional machine conductors
engineering domains like electromagnetic, mechanical, lie between high permeability teeth which redirect the flux
thermal (cryogenic), vacuum etc. Electromagnetic design away from the conductors so that only the slot leakage flux
includes finalisation of stator and rotor dimensions & ampere actually penetrates the copper. In the superconducting motor,
turns requirement, criteria for selection of HTS tapes, design since the armature conductors see the entire air gap flux
of HTS field coils, design of stator coils etc. Mechanical density, the armature winding must be carefully designed to
design confirms the dimensions of rotor shaft, stator frame, minimize eddy current losses. The cooling method of stator
bearing details, coil-holding arrangement, rotary feed through depends on current density level of stator conductors. Forced
etc. Thermal design deliberates on required cryocooler air cooled or water cooled or forced water cooled copper
capacity, material selection for different rotor components, conductor stators are some options for cooling the stator.
selection of cryogenic fluid, torque tube details, cryogen flow Under steady state operation, the machine rotor rotates in
arrangement etc. Vacuum system design considers vacuum synchronism with the rotating field created by the three phase
level requirement, pump selection, pumping port size etc. [11- armature currents and hence, superconducting field windings
18]. In this section, a typical airgap copper winding stator and experience only DC magnetic fields. Under load or source
HTS rotor topology has been taken and the design of different transients, however, the rotor will move with respect to the
components of this topology in all these aspects viz. armature created rotating field and experience AC fields.
electromagnetic, mechanical, cryogenics and vacuum are Damping will be provided by concentric conducting shells
discussed. located outside of rotor which is rotating with the HTS field
The major components of HTS rotor are HTS field coils, winding. The shells must also act to shield the field winding
field coil support structure, torque tubes, vacuum enclosure, from all AC fields created during transients to prevent AC
cryogenic cooling lines, magnetic shields, radiation shields, losses in the superconductors. A two layer shielding structure
helium transfer coupling, vacuum port etc. The design of HTS is expected to damp the oscillations and shield the HTS field
field coil depends on ampere turns requirement, rotor size, winding. The outer layer will be a high strength material at
operating cryogenic temperature, operating current, parallel room temperature (a warm shield) which will act as the
and perpendicular magnetic fields on HTS tape of coil etc. In damper winding and also provide AC flux shielding. Inside the
general supporting structure of HTS coils is nonmagnetic steel outer warm shield will be a thermal insulation space (vacuum)
with good mechanical strength at cryo temperatures. Torque that surrounds the rotor cryostat. This inner shield (the high
tube is a device which transfers the torque between cryo conductivity AC flux shield) will provide some damping and,
temperature field coils and room temperature shafts. It should most importantly, acts as a shield for superconducting field
have good mechanical strength and low degassing property at winding against any AC fields that pass through the outer
cryogenic temperatures. SS with suitable heat exchanging warm shield.
system can be used as torque tubes. With recent developments The above mentioned design aspects can be used for design
in fiberglass technology, high strength FRP based torque tubes and development of a reliable, compact and economical HTS
can also be used based on torque requirement. Radiation shield machine.
is used for reduction of radiation heat in leak to the cryogenic
structure. Vacuum enclosure is used for holding the vacuum WORLD WIDE DEVELOPMENTS
and to avoid convectional heat transfer to cryogenic
temperature field coils and its supporting structure. Cryogen Various countries in the world developed and
demonstrated HTS synchronous machines for different
transfer coupling is used for transferring the cryogen from
applications. A list in brief is given in Table1.
stationary frame (cryocooler) to rotating frame (HTS rotor). In
general, ferro fluid seal based cryogen transfer couplings are Table 1. List of HTS machines [23]
used for this purpose. Vacuum port is the port where the Year Power Application Developer
vacuum pump is connected for evacuation of rotor. The size of (MW)
port is decided by the vacuum level and volume of evacuated 2013 0.4 Marine IHI
space. The cooling of rotor can be done by conduction or 2012 3.0 Marine KHI, Korea
convection process. In general, Sterling or GM cryocoolers are 2012 17.0 Hydro GE
used for cryo cooling of HTS coils.[19-22] 2011 5.0 Marine Doosan
2011 1.0 Marine Wahun
The stator of HTS machine has an air core construction so
Institute
that the air gap magnetic field can be increased without core 2010 1.0 Marine KHI
loss and magnetic saturation. The laminated frame and flux 2010 4.0 Marine Siemens
shield in the outer layer, are made of magnetic material which 2008 1.3 Aerospace GE
act as a flux shunt or flux return path to confine the high 2007 36.5 Marine AMSC
magnetic fields within the motor. A nonmagnetic and non– 2005 8.0 Utility AMSC
2004 5.0 Marine AMSC
 2004 4.0 Generator Siemens
2003 1.5 Utility GE
2001 3.725 Industrial AMSC
CONCLUSIONS
HTS synchronous machines with different topologies are
discussed along with their pros and cons and their suitability
to various applications. The electromagnetic, mechanical and
thermal (cryogenic) design aspects have been brought out for
design and development of a typical HTS synchronous
machines. Some of successfully developed HTS synchronous
machines around the globe pertaining to marine, hydro,
aerospace and electrical utility applications have also been
listed. The current downtrend of pricing of HTS tapes and
cryocoolers along with availability of longer length HTS tapes
show a promising future of commercial HTS machines.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors would like to extend their warm gratitude to the
management of BHEL Corporate R&D Division, Hyderabad
for giving an opportunity to carry out this work. Authors
would like to thank Mr. Sudheer Thadela, IIT Kharagpur, for
his support extended for finalization of manuscript.
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