SUPERCONDUCTOR HOMOPOLAR MACHINES WITH LIQUID-METAL CONTACTS

Alongside with the power increase of Electric Superconductor (SC) Machines including Homopolar Machines (HM) there is a strong need of improving their working characteristics, raising the efficiency, reducing the superconductor consumption. In the report, the results of investigating the mass, dimensional and energetic properties of SCHM are given which are illustrated by the calculation of homopolar generators in the band of nominal power per unit P(n) = (2-250) MW at the voltage of 12, 24, 60, 230 V and rotation frequency of 25 and 50 rps. Screened and unscreened HM of a cylindrical type with liquid-metal current collector devices (LCD) and inductor consisting of 2 opposing SC coils mounted in a fixed cryostat inside the rotating armature are investigated. All the HM are designed for maximum economic efficiency and meet the requirement of the lowest power losses in LCD with Na-K eutectic. Also, the experimental results for 480 kW disk SCHM are given.