Quench Protection in Insulated REBCO Conductors: Design Optimization and Fast Detection via REBCO SQD

TL;DR

This paper explores optimized protection strategies for insulated REBCO superconducting conductors in fusion energy applications, comparing copper-stabilizer optimization with a novel REBCO SQD for faster quench detection and improved safety.

Contribution

It introduces a new REBCO superconducting quench detector (SQD) design and demonstrates how stabilizer optimization enhances quench protection in high-field, high-current HTS conductors.

Findings

Copper-stabilizer optimization improves quench safety.

REBCO SQD enables earlier quench detection.

Modeling confirms effective temperature control during quench.

Abstract

This work was conducted within the framework of the exploratory French project PEPR SupraFusion, which aims to advance the field of fusion energy by developing High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS)-based demonstrators capable of storing significant energy while operating under high magnetic fields and currents. Ensuring a reliable protection during a quench in Insulated REBCO conductors is challenging\,: slow normal-zone propagation and validation delays allow the hotspot's temperature to reach damaging levels. We compare (i) conductor protection via copper-stabilizer optimization and (ii) a co-wound, REBCO superconducting quench detector (SQD) that is electrically isolated yet thermally coupled and intentionally deoxygenated to lower Tc and Ic for an earlier transition. Onedimensional THEA modeling shows that a good choice of stabilizer cross-section makes the protection possible during quench events by keeping the temperature of the hotspot within a safe limit. The simulations also demonstrate that the use of a REBCO SQD enables the quench detection at lower temperatures.