A large scale approach of bulk HTS to the electric utility area

On the basis of a novel industrial-like YBCO seedless functional melt texture grain alignment process, various HTS devices for superconducting magnetic bearings (SMB) and high-current leads for transport and limiting purposes are fabricated. Critical shielding currents of 30 kA/cm/sup 2/ at 77 K are utilized to construct radial-passive magnetic bearings for 20 kg loads or to suspend and spin a O 4 cm rotor safely to 120000 rpm. Stiffnesses between 40 to 140 N/mm are measured. Multi-grain YBCO rods up to 20 cm length are tested for more than 6 kA/cm/sup 2/ transport currents. The connections to the copper braids are improved to less than 0.4 micro-ohm at 1000 Amperes and 77 K. The experiments show the practical potential of melt textured YBCO with macroscopic orientation of the grain structure for electric power purposes.