Electromagnetic Design of Fully High Temperature Superconductor Machines for Transport Systems

The electrification of the transport sector is one of the key areas of transport development worldwide, as it offers a number of benefits in terms of reducing harmful emissions, increasing fuel efficiency and reducing dependence on hydrocarbon fuels. Application of highly efficient and reliable electrical machines with high specific power is vital for transport electrification. Their development requires new materials, technics and technologies. One of them is superconductivity. Electrical machines with high temperature superconductors can have extremely high specific power and efficiency in comparison with traditional ones. There are a lot of publication about HTS electrical machines. Some of them provide results of calculation concerning machines with high specific power having different topologies for different applications. In this paper we provide parameters of fully HTS machines obtained with the help of developed calculation methods, which include analytical calculations and finite element analysis. Analytical calculations are based on the previously developed expressions for magnetic field distribution in the active zone of the considered HTS machines. Finite element models include main parts of machines such as magnetic cores, HTS windings, some constructive elements. We considered machines operating at different temperature (20–77 K) with different magnetic circuits including ironless, which have only one ferromagnetic part. Obtained results are compared with references. It is shown that fully HTS machine can have higher specific power—up to ten times higher in some applications. In conclusion, this study summarizes advantages of fully HTS machines and perspective fields of their application.