TY - JOUR
T1 - A new benchmark problem for electromagnetic modelling of superconductors: the high-Tc superconducting dynamo
AU - Ainslie, Mark
AU - Grilli, Francesco
AU - Quéval, Loïc
AU - Pardo, Enric
AU - Perez-Mendez, Fernando
AU - Mataira, Ratu
AU - Morandi, Antonio
AU - Ghabeli, Asef
AU - Bumby, Chris
AU - Brambilla, Roberto
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2020/8/31
Y1 - 2020/8/31
N2 - The high-Tc superconducting (HTS) dynamo is a promising device that can inject large DC supercurrents into a closed superconducting circuit. This is particularly attractive to energise HTS coils in NMR/MRI magnets and superconducting rotating machines without the need for connection to a power supply via current leads. It is only very recently that quantitatively accurate, predictive models have been developed which are capable of analysing HTS dynamos and explain their underlying physical mechanism. In this work, we propose to use the HTS dynamo as a new benchmark problem for the HTS modelling community. The benchmark geometry consists of a permanent magnet rotating past a stationary HTS coated-conductor wire in the open-circuit configuration, assuming for simplicity the 2D (infinitely long) case. Despite this geometric simplicity the solution is complex, comprising time-varying spatially-inhomogeneous currents and fields throughout the superconducting volume. In this work, this benchmark problem has been implemented using several different methods, including H-formulation-based methods, coupled H-A and T-A formulations, the Minimum Electromagnetic Entropy Production method, and integral equation and volume integral equation-based equivalent circuit methods. Each of these approaches show excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement for the open-circuit equivalent instantaneous voltage and the cumulative time-averaged equivalent voltage, as well as the current density and electric field distributions within the HTS wire at key positions during the magnet transit. Finally, a critical analysis and comparison of each of the modelling frameworks is presented, based on the following key metrics: Number of mesh elements in the HTS wire, total number of mesh elements in the model, number of degrees of freedom, tolerance settings and the approximate time taken per cycle for each model. This benchmark and the results contained herein provide researchers with a suitable framework to validate, compare and optimise their own methods for modelling the HTS dynamo.
AB - The high-Tc superconducting (HTS) dynamo is a promising device that can inject large DC supercurrents into a closed superconducting circuit. This is particularly attractive to energise HTS coils in NMR/MRI magnets and superconducting rotating machines without the need for connection to a power supply via current leads. It is only very recently that quantitatively accurate, predictive models have been developed which are capable of analysing HTS dynamos and explain their underlying physical mechanism. In this work, we propose to use the HTS dynamo as a new benchmark problem for the HTS modelling community. The benchmark geometry consists of a permanent magnet rotating past a stationary HTS coated-conductor wire in the open-circuit configuration, assuming for simplicity the 2D (infinitely long) case. Despite this geometric simplicity the solution is complex, comprising time-varying spatially-inhomogeneous currents and fields throughout the superconducting volume. In this work, this benchmark problem has been implemented using several different methods, including H-formulation-based methods, coupled H-A and T-A formulations, the Minimum Electromagnetic Entropy Production method, and integral equation and volume integral equation-based equivalent circuit methods. Each of these approaches show excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement for the open-circuit equivalent instantaneous voltage and the cumulative time-averaged equivalent voltage, as well as the current density and electric field distributions within the HTS wire at key positions during the magnet transit. Finally, a critical analysis and comparison of each of the modelling frameworks is presented, based on the following key metrics: Number of mesh elements in the HTS wire, total number of mesh elements in the model, number of degrees of freedom, tolerance settings and the approximate time taken per cycle for each model. This benchmark and the results contained herein provide researchers with a suitable framework to validate, compare and optimise their own methods for modelling the HTS dynamo.
KW - Coated conductor
KW - Flux pump
KW - High temperature superconductors
KW - Hts dynamo
KW - Hts modelling
KW - Numerical simulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092417755&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1361-6668/abae04
DO - 10.1088/1361-6668/abae04
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85092417755
SN - 0953-2048
VL - 33
JO - Superconductor Science and Technology
JF - Superconductor Science and Technology
IS - 10
M1 - 105009
ER -