Naoyuki Amemiya

Bio: Naoyuki Amemiya is an academic researcher from Kyoto University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Magnetic field & Magnet. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 282 publications receiving 4241 citations. Previous affiliations of Naoyuki Amemiya include Ankara University & The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd..

Numerical modelings of superconducting wires for AC loss calculations

Abstract: Superconducting properties of superconducting wires as well as the influence of their composite structure and twisting should be taken into account for their numerical modeling for AC loss calculations. Furthermore, complicated electromagnetic conditions in electrical apparatuses under which superconducting wires are used influence their AC loss properties; superconducting wires carry their transport current and are exposed to the external magnetic field whose direction and magnitude vary spatially. A series of numerical models of superconducting tapes based on the finite element method has been developed. In each model, some of the above-mentioned factors that could influence the AC loss properties are taken into account. The models are formulated with the current vector potential and the scalar magnetic potential ( T – Ω method). Superconducting property is given by the E – J characteristic represented by a power law. The current distributions in non-twisted and twisted superconducting tapes carrying their transport current and/or exposed to the external magnetic field are calculated with these models to estimate their AC loss. The current distribution in a short piece of superconducting tape exposed to AC magnetic field is also calculated.

AC loss reduction of YBCO coated conductors by multifilamentary structure

Abstract: The large cross-sectional aspect ratio of YBCO coated conductors leads to a large magnetization loss in an AC transverse magnetic field. In this work, the magnetization loss of a multifilamentary YBCO coated conductor was studied experimentally. A 100 mm length of striated multifilamentary YBCO coated conductor was prepared where the conductor and filaments were 10 mm wide and 0.4 mm wide, respectively. Striations in the sample were accomplished by laser ablation. The magnetization loss of this striated conductor as well as a reference non-striated conductor was measured in AC transverse magnetic fields normal to the conductor at various frequencies. The measured magnetization loss of the 100 mm striated conductor was less than 9% of the measured loss of the non-striated conductor at f = 11.3 Hz and H/Hcc = 8.8 (Hcc = Ic/πwc; Ic: critical current, wc: conductor width). Even though the coupling loss component increases the magnetization loss in the striated conductor, the AC loss reduction by striation is still apparent even at 171.0 Hz. The transverse resistance between filaments estimated by a four-probe measurement was 38 µΩ for 1 m at 80 K. The coupling length estimated using this transverse resistance is much longer than the sample length even at 171.0 Hz, suggesting that the filaments in the striated conductor are far from 'completely coupled' or 'saturated'.

Dynamic resistance of a high-Tc superconducting flux pump

Abstract: Superconducting flux pumps enable large currents to be injected into a superconducting circuit, without the requirement for thermally conducting current leads which bridge between the cryogenic environment and room temperature. In this work, we have built and studied a mechanically rotating flux pump which employs a coated conductor high-Tc superconducting (HTS) stator. This flux pump has been used to excite an HTS double pancake coil at 77 K. Operation of the flux pump causes the current within the superconducting circuit to increase over time, before saturating at a limiting value. Interestingly, the superconducting flux pump is found to possess an effective internal resistance, Reff, which varies linearly with frequency, and is two orders of magnitude larger than the measured series resistance of the soldered contacts within the circuit. This internal resistance sets a limit for the maximum achievable output current from the flux pump, which is independent of the operating frequency. We attribute this ...

Magnetic field generated by shielding current in high T c superconducting coils for NMR magnets

Abstract: Numerical electromagnetic field analyses of high Tc superconducting tape in coils were carried out to calculate the magnetic field generated by the shielding (magnetization) current in superconducting tape. The numerical model employs the power law electric field–current density characteristic and the thin strip approximation, in which the current component normal to the wide face of the tape is neglected. The shielding (magnetization) currents lead to non-uniform current distributions in the superconducting tape in the coils. The magnetic field generated by the shielding (magnetization) current can deteriorate the field quality and could be a concern in insert coils for NMR magnets using high Tc superconducting tape.

Impact of flux gap upon dynamic resistance of a rotating HTS flux pump

Abstract: HTS flux pumps enable superconducting currents to be directly injected into a magnet coil without the requirement for thermally inefficient current leads. Here, we present results from an experimental mechanically rotating HTS flux pump employing a coated-conductor stator and operated at 77 K. We show the effect of varying the size of the flux gap between the rotor magnets and coated conductor stator from 1 to 7.5 mm. This leads to a corresponding change in the peak applied perpendicular magnetic field at the stator from approximately 350 to 50 mT. We observe that our experimental device ceases to maintain a measurable output at flux gaps above 7.5 mm, which we attribute to the presence of screening currents in the stator wire. We show that our mechanically rotating flux pump is well described by a simple circuit model which enables the output performance to be described using two simple parameters, the open-circuit voltage V oc and the internal resistance, R d. Both of these parameters are found to be directly proportional to magnet-crossing frequency and decrease with increasing flux gap. We show that the trend in R d can be understood by considering the dynamic resistance experienced at the stator due to the oscillating amplitude of the applied rotor field. We adopt a literature model for the dynamic resistance within our coated-conductor stator and show that this gives good agreement with the experimentally measured internal resistance of our flux pump.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Automotive Electric Propulsion Systems With Reduced or No Permanent Magnets: An Overview

Abstract: Hybrid and electric vehicle technology has seen rapid development in recent years. The motor and the generator are at the heart of the vehicle drive and energy system and often utilize expensive rare-earth permanent magnet (PM) material. This paper reviews and addresses the research work that has been carried out to reduce the amount of rare-earth material that is used while maintaining the high efficiency and performance that rare-earth PM machines offer. These new machines can use either less rare-earth PM material, weaker ferrite magnets, or no magnets; and they need to meet the high performance that the more usual interior PM synchronous motor with sintered neodymium-iron-boron magnets provides. These machines can take the form of PM-assisted synchronous reluctance machines, induction machines, switched reluctance machines, wound rotor synchronous machines (claw pole or biaxially excited), double-saliency machines with ac or dc stator current control, or brushless dc multiple-phase reluctance machines.

Numerical solution of critical state in superconductivity by finite element software

Abstract: A numerical method is proposed to analyse the electromagnetic behaviour of systems including high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) in time-varying external fields and superconducting cables carrying AC transport current. The E–J constitutive law together with an H-formulation is used to calculate the current distribution and electromagnetic fields in HTSCs, and the magnetization of HTSCs; then the forces in the interaction between the electromagnet and the superconductor and the AC loss of the superconducting cable can be obtained. This numerical method is based on solving the partial differential equations time dependently and is adapted to the commercial finite element software Comsol Multiphysics 3.2. The advantage of this method is to make the modelling of the superconductivity simple, flexible and extendable.

Development of an edge-element model for AC loss computation of high-temperature superconductors

Abstract: This paper presents a new numerical model for computing the current density, field distributions and AC losses in superconductors. The model, based on the direct magnetic field H formulation without the use of vector and scalar potentials (which are used in conventional formulations), relies on first-order edge finite elements. These elements are by construction curl conforming and therefore suitable to satisfy the continuity of the tangential component of magnetic field across adjacent elements, with no need for explicitly imposing the condition . This allows the overcoming of one of the major problems of standard nodal elements with potential formulation: in the case of strong discontinuities or nonlinearities of the physical properties of the materials and/or in presence of sharp corners in the conductors' geometry, the discontinuities of the potentials' derivatives are unnatural and without smoothing artifices the convergence of the algorithm is put at risk. In this work we present in detail the model for two-dimensional geometries and we test it by comparing the numerical results with the predictions of analytical solutions for simple geometries. We use it successively for investigating cases of practical interest involving more complex configurations, where the interaction between adjacent tapes is important. In particular we discuss the results of AC losses in superconducting windings.

Carbon ion radiotherapy in Japan: an assessment of 20 years of clinical experience.

Abstract: Charged particle therapy is generally regarded as cutting-edge technology in oncology. Many proton therapy centres are active in the USA, Europe, and Asia, but only a few centres use heavy ions, even though these ions are much more effective than x-rays owing to the special radiobiological properties of densely ionising radiation. The National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) Chiba, Japan, has been treating cancer with high-energy carbon ions since 1994. So far, more than 8000 patients have had this treatment at NIRS, and the centre thus has by far the greatest experience in carbon ion treatment worldwide. A panel of radiation oncologists, radiobiologists, and medical physicists from the USA and Europe recently completed peer review of the carbon ion therapy at NIRS. The review panel had access to the latest developments in treatment planning and beam delivery and to all updated clinical data produced at NIRS. A detailed comparison with the most advanced results obtained with x-rays or protons in Europe and the USA was then possible. In addition to those tumours for which carbon ions are known to produce excellent results, such as bone and soft-tissue sarcoma of the skull base, head and neck, and pelvis, promising data were obtained for other tumours, such as locally recurrent rectal cancer and pancreatic cancer. The most serious impediment to the worldwide spread of heavy ion therapy centres is the high initial capital cost. The 20 years of clinical experience at NIRS can help guide strategic decisions on the design and construction of new heavy ion therapy centres.