The Electromagnetic and Structural Design of a 10 kA-Class Full-Wave HTS Transformer-Rectifier

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets operating in persistent current mode suffer from current decay. The footprint and energy requirements of a solid-state power supply and multi-kA current leads impose significant constraints on the size and efficiency of a fusion device. The transformer-rectifier flux pump is emerging as a novel method of supplying current, which eliminates heat leakage caused by traditional current leads and offers relatively high efficiency. In this paper, we introduce a new electromagnetic design and structural design for a 10 kA transformer-rectifier flux pump to power and maintain HTS magnets. The flux pump is powered by an iron-core transformer, which has a copper primary winding and a HTS secondary winding. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">J</i><sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub><italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">_B</i> switch is used as a rectifier to charge the magnet. The principle is validated through simulation, and the corresponding mechanical structure design is conducted based on the simulation results.