Results of the Test of Industrially Manufactured HTS Current Leads With Novel Design Features

In the framework of a collaboration, CRPP (Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas) and WEKA AG have developed high-temperature superconductor (HTS) current leads for currents in the range of 3 to 30 kA, which are suitable for industrial fabrication. In the development project, two 10 kA HTS current leads, mainly distinguished by the design of the copper heat exchanger and the transition zone between the HTS module and the heat exchanger, have been manufactured by WEKA AG and tested at CRPP. The test of the current leads covered their behavior under normal operating conditions as well as in the case of a loss of flow. Furthermore, a quench of the current leads was initiated by increasing of the helium temperature by means of heaters immediately before the inlet. The measured quench temperatures provide an estimate of the operational limits of the 10 kA HTS current leads.