Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/C512545/1
Title:	Superconducting Fault Current Limiters
Principal Investigator:	Coombs, Professor TA
Other Investigators:	Campbell, Professor AM
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Engineering
Organisation:	University of Cambridge
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 September 2005	Ends:	31 August 2008	Value (£):	205,965
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Power Sys Man, Prot & Control
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Energy Transport Systems and Vehicles
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
This proposal is to carry outwork designed to enable the design and build of a fault current limiter using YBCO coated conductors. Industry has defined a clear need for Fault Current Limiters. This need is predicated on several different reasons and (currently) in two major areas the first being land based power distribution networks and the second being ship born electrical systems.It has long been true that many electrical grid systems have been providing levels of power far beyond their original design specifications. It is also known that this demand for power is rising. In addition the move towards a mulitplicity of small power generation systems such as for example windmills has lead to issues with power quality. These factors taken together point to an imperative requirement for some device to limit the level of faults when they occur on the network. The superconducting fault current limiter is an ideal candidate. In normal use it is transparent to the network and so provides no overhead but if a fault occurs then its resistance can rise rapidly enough to limit the fault during the course of the first cycle and thus protect distribution systems from damage.More recently identified but of a similar impact is the proposed use of superconducting motors in ship propulsion systems ( thus making the systems quieter and crucially much smaller than when conventional propulsion systems are used) and an associated requirement for fault current limiters.This proposal is to investigate the use of YBCO coated conductors in Fault Current Limiters. An YBCO system would be smaller than the BSSCO systems which have been hitherto researched. It would also act more quickly and thus more efficiently.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Organisation Website:	http://www.cam.ac.uk