Patent ID: 7023673

Claim:
A superconducting shielded core reactor (SSCR) in a circuit for limiting fault current under fault conditions and for reducing AC losses in a superconductor in the SSCR under continuous normal operating conditions, said SSCR comprising: a ferromagnetic core; series connected first and second conductive coils electrically coupled to the circuit and magnetically coupled to said ferromagnetic core; and a superconducting arrangement magnetically coupled to said ferromagnetic core and said first and second conductive coils, wherein an AC current in said first and second conductive coils produces a first magnetic field and wherein said first magnetic field gives rise to a second opposed magnetic field in said superconducting arrangement, and wherein said first and second magnetic fields cancel each other under normal operating conditions, and wherein said first magnetic field exceeds said second magnetic field in a fault condition, with said ferromagnetic core producing a large impedance in said first and second conductive coils for limiting AC current in the circuit under a fault condition, and wherein said first and second conductive coils direct respective magnetic fields on the inside and outside, respectively, of said superconducting arrangement.