Field Coil Optimization and Characteristics Contrastive Analysis for a High-Temperature Superconducting Generator Prototype

In this paper, a field coil is optimized for a kW-class high-temperature superconducting (HTS) generator prototype to decrease tape consumption and improve the use efficiency of the HTS tapes by increasing the operating current. First, the structure of the field coil is preliminarily designed based on a novel graphic method. Then, the field coil is optimized by using a genetic algorithm to decrease the tape consumption. Finally, the field coils are fixed in the finite element method generator prototype to study and compare the electromagnetic characteristics. The current distribution is calculated based on the J(c)-B-theta characteristics, and the minimum current to determine the operating current is also derived. After the optimization, the electromagnetic characteristics are improved and the operating current is increased.