Abstract
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has tested a 25-m long prototype High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cable with inherent Fault-Current Limiting (FCL) capability at its recently upgraded HTS cable test facility in Oak Ridge, TN. The HTS-FCL cable and terminations were designed and fabricated by Ultera, which is a joint venture of Southwire and nkt cables with FCL features and HTS wire provided by American Superconductor Corporation. The overall project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The ultimate goal of the 25-m HTS-FCL cable test program was to verify the design and ensure the operational integrity for the eventual installation of a ~ 200-m fully functional HTS-FCL cable in the Consolidated Edison electric grid located in downtown New York City. The 25-m HTS-FCL cable consisted of a three-phase (3-Φ) Triax™ design with a cold dielectric between the phases. The HTS-FCL cable had an operational voltage of 13.8 kV phase-to-phase and an operating current of 4000 Arms per phase, which is the highest operating current to date of any HTS cable. The 25-m HTS-FCL cable was subjected to a series of cryogenic and electrical tests. Test results from the 25-m HTS-FCL cable are presented and discussed.
