Quench of a Single-Layer ReBCO CORC Cable with Non-Uniform Terminal Contact Resistance

ReBCO conductor-on-round-core (CORC) cable has become a promising candidate for high temperature superconducting (HTS) power applications, due to its great mechanical strength, high current carrying capacity, high flexibility, and low ac losses. However, ReBCO coated conductors are at risk of quenching, which significantly affects the thermal stability and reliability of the CORC cable. Three-dimensional (3-D) numerical study on the quench behavior of the CORC cable remains a challenge, for its complex geometry is difficult to cope with. In this paper, a 3-D time-dependent multi-physics quench model based on the T-A formulation has been developed. Three modules are coupled in this model; the T-A formulation model, a heat transfer model, and an equivalent circuit model. The quench behavior of a single-layer ReBCO CORC cable with non-uniform terminal contact resistances has been studied, when a hotspot is imposed on one of the tapes to induce a local quench. Results show that, the CORC cable has the highest MQE; in other words, it is the most stable situation, when the hotspot-induced quench occurs on the tape with the middle value of terminal contact resistance.