Work

Quench Protection in Insulated REBCO Conductors: Design Optimization and Fast Detection via REBCO SQD

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This work was conducted within the framework of the exploratory French project PEPR SupraFusion, which aims to advance the field of fusion energy by developing High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS)-based demonstrators capable of storing significant energy while operating under high magnetic fields and currents. Ensuring a reliable protection during a quench in Insulated REBCO conductors is challenging : slow normal-zone propagation and validation delays allow the hotspot's temperature to reach damaging levels. We compare (i) conductor protection via copper-stabilizer optimization and (ii) a co-wound, REBCO superconducting quench detector (SQD) that is electrically isolated yet thermally coupled and intentionally deoxygenated to lower$T_{c}$and$I_{c}$for an earlier transition. One-dimensional THEA modeling shows that a good choice of stabilizer cross-section makes the protection possible during quench events by keeping the temperature of the hotspot within a safe limit. The simulations also demonstrate that the use of a REBCO SQD enables the quench detection at lower temperatures.

Source: IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

DOI: 10.1109/tasc.2026.3659105

Authors: Hajar Zgour, Walid Abdel Maksoud, Bertrand Baudouy, Antoine Guinet

Institution: Université Paris-Saclay

Language: English

Topic: Superconducting Materials and Applications

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: green

Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche