SBIR-STTR Award

Illinois Superconductor Corp. will design and test fault current limiters which use recently discovered High Temperature Superconducting materials to protect vital spacecraft components from unpredictable power surges and spikes. These devices will also find use in the ultra-high speed switching of very large currents, a key to future electromagnetic space launch systems. The key to these components is the clever use of what has been considered a weakness in the new superconductors - a limit in the material's ability to carry current. Through careful engineering, the current limiter carries normal levels of electricity with no losses due to resistance. When a power spike occurs, the device losses its superconductivity and becomes an electrical brake, protecting more fragile devices downstream from the surge. This product can be used in the commercial power distribution industry. There, a device to protect electrical circuits from power surges can save utilities hundreds of millions of dollars in capital and operational costs.

Illinois Superconductor Corp. will develop an ultra-fast fault current limiter (FCL) based on high temperature superconductor materials. During normal operation of the FCL, current flows through the device with no losses. When a fault current exceeds the HTS material's critical current density, the limiter becomes resistive and prevents the current surge from reaching components downstream in the circuit. The current limiting is extremely rapid, estimated to be less than 2 microseconds, from testing during Phase I. Phase I assembled the HTSC materials into a test device which carried 10 amperes in its operating state, while producing 10 ohms of resistance. In Phase II, Illinois Superconductor will produce a prototype FCL which will protect cross-field microwave tubes in ground-based radar systems.