HTSC dc superconducting cables are under consideration for a variety of applications ranging from bi-directional interties between regional ac grids ("back-to-backs"), internal connection within, and out-feeds from, low voltage solar or wind farm generators, and up to multi-gigawatt transmission trunks linking remote nuclear clusters to urban load centers. In every instance, there are two principal design choices - coaxial, or "cold temperature dielectric; and mono-axial, also termed "warm temperature dielectric." In the former, both poles may be serviced by concentric conductors in the same physical package, separated by insulation held at the temperature necessary for superconducting operation, and in the latter, the poles are contained in two separate cables of more or less conventional design, each holding a cryostat enclosing the superconductor surrounded by a dielectric material at ambient temperature. Both have "pluses and minuses." CTD has the advantage of compactness, but requires a cryogenic dielectric, whereas WTD is simpler to manufacture and less costly overall as well. However, depending on the dimensional separation of the two poles and their containment infrastructure, WTD can experience considerable outward compressive physical forces and some reduction in critical state properties due to interpenetration of their respective magnetic fields. Recent progress in introducing homogeneous pinning in YBCO coated conductors could considerably ameliorate this latter issue, and thus the WTD design could engage a range of applications formerly out of reach of BSCCO tapes. We will examine these two issues in detail.
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