Design of a 4.5 MJ/1 MW sectored toroidal superconducting energy storage magnet

A 4.5 MJ/1 MW superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) system is being developed at VECC centre, Kolkata. The magnet system consists of the cryostat and coil assembly comprising eight superconducting solenoid coils made of custom-made NbTi based Rutherford-type cable and arranged in toroidal fashion with finite inter-sector gap. Since the strong electromagnetic force distributed to the coil is asymmetric and non-uniform in nature, a precise 3-D finite element analysis (FEA) has been carried out to design a mechanically stable coil and support structure under various operational scenarios. The results reveal that maximum stress developed on coil and its support structure is below allowable stress limit. Extensive transient analysis has also been carried out to evaluate transient loss and assess the feasibility of using helium re-condensation technology with commercially available cryo-refrigerators. Finally, quench protection scenario has also been discussed suitable for this toroidal-type SMES system. The article investigates the design concept of the cryostat and coil assembly. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.