HTS cable test facility: Design and initial results

A versatile, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable test facility has been designed and assembled at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in a j oint program between ORNL and Southwire Company. The facility mission is to evaluate the performance of prototype HTS power transmission cables at len gths in the range of 1 to 5+ m, Power supplies are available for steady-sta te currents of 3,000 A (dc) and 2,000 A (ac) as well as up to 25,000 A (dc) for pulsed loading. Cryogenic cooling is provided by an Air Products liqui d nitrogen supply system with the capability of providing about a kilowatt of cooling at pressures up to 10 bar over a temperature range of about 67 t o 77 K, Electrical and cryogenic data are taken by dedicated sensors scanne d by ten-channel multimeters connected via cable and fiber optic to a perso nal-computer-based, data acquisition system using the LabVIEW program. Thes e diagnostics allow measurement of the dc V-I characteristics and ac loss o f the cable, dielectric integrity via a partial discharge measurement, and cryogenic performance at rated voltage (7.2-kV ac) and current (1250 A). In itial results from facility commissioning and early HTS cable testing are r eported.