Essential Material Knowledge and Recent Model Developments for REBCO-Coated Conductors in Electric Power Systems

Area of Science:

• Superconductivity
• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Commercial Rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) tapes are vital for power systems due to high current density and low losses.
• Challenges remain in characterizing REBCO tapes, including data scarcity, inhomogeneity, and anisotropy, hindering accurate modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and present latest developments in modeling commercial REBCO tapes for power systems.
• To focus on the thermoelectric behavior of superconducting devices connected to external circuits.
• To demonstrate the practical applications of different modeling approaches in electric power systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilized equivalent models with lumped parameters for analyzing the overall thermoelectric response of superconducting devices.
• Employed Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to compute distributed fields like current density, magnetic flux density, and local losses in REBCO tapes.

Main Results:

• Presented two distinct modeling approaches: lumped parameter analysis and Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
• Showcased practical applications of these models in electric power systems, highlighting their relevance.
• Demonstrated how model detail influences the optimization of superconducting power devices.

Conclusions:

• Accurate simulation of REBCO tape physics is crucial for optimizing superconducting device operation in power grids.
• The choice of modeling detail depends on understanding basic measurable properties like critical current and n-index, along with cooling conditions.
• Both lumped parameter models and FEA are valuable tools for analyzing REBCO tapes in power systems.