Electromagnetic Design of 13.2 MW Fully Superconducting Machine

As low ac loss superconductors progress, the feasibility of fully superconducting (SC) machines is worth studying every few years. A 13.2 MW fully SC machine with MgB2 armature windings and low-temperature superconducting (LTS) field windings for direct drive wind turbines is proposed and electromagnetically designed in this paper. The performance of this machine is studied through finite elements analysis. Comparisons are made between the fully SC machine and a well-designed LTS machine in aspects of weight, initial cost of effective components, and so on. It is found that fully SC machines are of higher torque density and power density, while the improvement could hardly cover the high initial cost of the more complex mechanical support and cooling systems.