Current limitation based on bulk YBaCuO meanders

This work aims at testing the performance of melt textured YBaCuO to limit fault currents. To do so, a 1 kV resistive fault current limiter (FCL) has been built and tested. The basic elements of this demonstrator were meander s cut out of textured pellets. Preliminary tests on meanders showed that th e operating temperature of the limiter had to be above 90 K in order to obt ain a homogeneous quench. The upper limiting capabilities of YBaCuO single bars and meanders were measured at 90.5 K. Bars reached a maximum electric field of 500 V/m and an average temperature of 280 K after a 20 ms short-ci rcuit, while meanders attained values of 320 V/m and 210 K. The 1 kV demons trator consisted of 43 meanders connected in series, with a shunt resistor added in parallel to each meander. The operating temperature was 90.5 K and the nominal current 100 A(peak). Although this demonstrator succeeded to l imit a fault current of 5.1 kA(peak) at a value of 730 A, several of the me anders broke during limitation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.