Experimental results of tri-axial HTS cable

Recently, a tri-axial cable composed of three concentric phases has been intensively developed, because it has advantages such as reduced high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape, small leakage field and small heat loss as compared to three single-phase cables. However, there is an inherent imbalance in the three-phase currents in tri-axial cables due to the differences in the radii of the three-phase current layers. The imbalance of the currents causes additional loss and a large leakage field in the cable, and deteriorates the electric power quality. We have already proposed that it is possible to obtain a balanced three-phase distribution by adjusting all of the twist pitches. In order to verify the theory, we designed and fabricated a 1-m-long tri-axial HTS cable and carried out the cable test. The balanced three-phase voltages of the cable were measured by supplying an AC transport current with frequency from 50 to 500 Hz at 77 K. It is found from the test results that the balanced three-phase distributions can be realized by adjusting all of the twist pitches. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.