Cryogenic cooling system for a 154 kV/ 2 kA superconducting fault current limiter

A cryogenic cooling system is designed for a 154 kV/ 2 kA three-phase hybrid type superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL). The superconducting modules of the SFCL have the operating condition of 71 K at 500 kPa. The total heat load of the SFCL including the cooling system is estimated at 9.6 kW. The cooling system of the closed loop is configured to meet the operating condition, depending on cooling methods of forced flow cooling and re-liquefaction cooling. The cooling system is composed of three cryostats with superconducting modules, cryocoolers, liquid nitrogen circulation pumps, a subcooler and a pressure builder. The basic cooling concept is to circulate liquid nitrogen between three SFCL cryostats and the cryocooler, while maintaining the operating pressure. The design criterion for the cooling system is based on the operation results of the cooling system for a 154 kV/ 2 kA single-phase hybrid SFCL. The specifications of system components including the piping system are determined according to the design criterion.