Abstract Body

Superconducting flux pumps are power supplies for superconducting circuits. These power supplies inject large currents into a superconducting load coil in an additive and cyclic manner without introducing large amounts of heat into the cryogenic environment. In this presentation a recently published [1] Simulink model of a half wave magnetically switched (JcB) transformer rectifier flux pump (TRFP) will be showcased. This model explains and predicts the performance of real world TRFPs in fine detail through electrical, magnetic and thermal circuit simulation and requires a small amount of computational resource to do so. In the publication the model was validated against a liquid nitrogen cooled experimental system successfully and has now been validated against a second system, further proving its utility. The second system, explained thoroughly in another recent publication [2], is a conduction cooled half wave Jcb TRFP whose switch temperatures are controllable. This conduction cooled system has been updated since then to contain larger cooling paths in the JcB switches, reducing thermal rise during operation. These experimental findings illustrate the importance of thermal pathway planning in JcB TRFPs and provoke the use of the predictive Simulink model to sweep parameter spaces inaccessible by the experimental apparatus. The new experimental findings on the influence of cooling pathways and the subsequent simulations of the system will be presented.

References

1. Francis, A.C., et al., Electrical, magnetic and thermal circuit modelling of a superconducting half-wave transformer rectifier flux pump using Simulink. Superconductivity, 2023. 7: p. 100053.
2. Clarke, J., et al., Temperature Dependent Performance of a Conduction-Cooled Jc(B) Transformer- Rectifier Flux Pump. IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 2023. 33(5): p. 1-6.

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) under Contract No. RTVU1707 and Strategic Science Investment Fund ‘Advanced Energy Technology Platforms’ Contract RTVU2004