Abstract
Superconducting generators (SCG) show the potential to reduce the head mass of large offshore wind turbines. By evaluating the availability and required cooling capacity in the temperatures range around 20 K, a Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocooler among all the candidates was selected. The cold head of GM cryocooler is supposed to rotate together with the rotating superconducting coil. However, the scroll compressor of the GM cryocooler must stay stationary due to lubricating oil. As a consequence, a rotary helium union (RHU) utilizing Ferrofluidic® sealing technology was successfully developed to transfer helium gas between the rotating cold head and stationary helium compressor at ambient temperatures. It contains a high-pressure and low-pressure helium path with multiple ports, respectively. Besides the helium line, slip rings with optical fiber channels are also integrated into this RHU to transfer current and measurement signals. With promising preliminary test results, the RHU will be installed in a demonstrator of SCG and further performance investigation will be performed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 012067 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-8 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering |
| Volume | 278 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 30 Dec 2017 |
| Event | 2017 Cryogenic Engineering Conference, CEC 2017 - Madison, United States Duration: 9 Jul 2017 → 13 Jul 2017 |
Keywords
- Gifford-McMahon cryocoolers
- Wind turbine
- Offshore
- Superconducting generators (SCG)
Project and Funding Information
- Project ID
- info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/308793/EU/SUPerconducting, Reliable, lightweight, And more POWERful offshore wind turbine/SUPRAPOWER
- Funding Info
- This research is primarily supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme_x000D_(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement 308793. Thanks for the technical support from Tom Black_x000D_and Mark Granoff at Ferrotec.
