Towards more reliable and cost-effective superconducting generators for wind turbines

For large (~10 MW) wind turbines, direct-drive superconducting generators are proposed to reduce the tower head mass,which helps to reduce the installation costs. Most of the existing designs have a very similar topology: a synchronous machine with a rotating superconducting field winding. However, this topology may not be the most suitable design for harsh offshore conditions. A novel transverse flux design is presented. The design has stationary and modular superconducting field windings combined with a double armature structure.