Influence of Coil Position on AC Losses of Stator Superconducting Windings of a Synchronous Machine for a 10 MW Wind Turbine

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the position of coils within a stator affects AC losses in superconducting windings of a 10 MW wind turbine generator, using finite element modeling to optimize coil placement for reduced losses.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed finite element analysis of coil position effects on AC losses in superconducting stator windings, highlighting configurations that minimize losses and improve efficiency.

Findings

Certain coil arrangements significantly reduce total AC losses.

Optimized coil positioning leads to more uniform loss distribution.

Lower losses enable higher operating temperatures for the superconducting coils.

Abstract

One of the main tasks during the design of a superconducting electrical machine is the estimation of losses in the superconducting coils. These losses can be decisive in such applications since they influence the cooling power requirements and the overall efficiency of the machine. In this publication, we focus on the dissipation in the stator superconducting coils of a synchronous machine for a wind turbine application. The T-A formulation of Maxwell's equations is used in a 2D finite element model to analyse the behaviour of the magnetic field around the coils and calculate losses. Particular attention is given to the position of the coils inside a slot and several coil configurations are presented. It is shown that certain coil arrangements lead to a significantly lower total loss, a more uniform loss distribution, which ultimately leads to the possibility of increasing the operating temperature.