Patent ID: 7724483

Claim:
A system for protecting superconducting generator field coils, comprising: a controller configured to monitor for a quenching of a superconducting field coil of a generator and control a dissipation of a current flow in the superconducting field coil in an event of the quenching; and an armature coil of the generator configured to cause the dissipation of the current flow in the superconducting field coil responsive to the controller in the event of the quenching of the superconducting field coil via a first switch and a second switch, wherein the first switch and the second switch connect the superconducting field coil to an excitation source of the generator in a first state and connect the superconducting field coil to at least a portion of the armature coil in a second state and the controller is configured to control the dissipation of the current flow in the superconducting field coil in the event of the quenching by causing the first switch and the second switch to change from the first state to the second state.