A Field-Controlled High-Temperature Superconducting Switch: Experiment and Simulation

The behavior of a field-controlled high-temperature superconducting (HTS) switch is investigated by experiment and simulation. The HTS switch consists of a YBCO tape placed in the air-gap of an iron-core copper-wound electromagnet. We measured the resistance of the switch for different amplitudes and frequencies of the electromagnet current, and for different HTS tape direct current transport currents. A two-dimensional electromagnetic-thermal finite element model with unidirectional coupling was developed to accurately and efficiently simulate the switch. The fabricated switch can generate an off-state resistance of 93 µΩ, meeting the requirements for certain applications, such as transformer-rectifier HTS flux pumps. The unidirectional electromagneticthermal coupling model reduces computational time by 96% compared to the bidirectional counterpart, without compromising accuracy.