Patent ID: 7633192

Claim:
A structure for supporting superconducting conductors in a spaced-apart relation from a rotor core of an electrical machine, comprising: an enclosure comprising first and second opposing sidewalls and an upper surface enclosing the superconducting conductors; a casing attached to the core and comprising first and second opposing interior surfaces, the enclosure disposed within the casing; load transferring elements supported between the enclosure and the casing for transferring loads imposed on the superconducting conductors to the casing during operation of the electrical machine, wherein a first gap is defined in a first thermal path between the enclosure and the casing through the elements to impede heat flow from the rotor core to the superconducting conductors; and wherein the first gap is substantially open during normal operation of the electrical machine to lengthen the first thermal path and tends to close during an operating transient for the electrical machine.