Superconductor Permanent Magnets for Advanced Propulsion Applications

Phil Putman,(1) Yuxiang Zhou,(1) Kamel Salama,(1) Tony Robertson,(2a) and Deborah D. Bond(2b)
1. Texas Center for Superconductivity and Advanced Materials, Houston, Texas 77204-5002
2a. NASA/MSFC, PRC, Huntsville, AL 35812
2b. NASA/MSFC, Processing and Manufacturing Department, Huntsville, AL 35812

Abstract: Improved trapped fields of 17 T at 29 K and 11.2 T at 47 K have been reported for the melt-textured YBCO superconductor material. Such high field strengths give the possibility for producing superconductor permanent magnets (SCPM) for plasma-related space propulsion applications, such as the anti-matter trap, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) propulsion and electrical power generation, and others that are under development or being studied. The SCPM could be beneficial in reducing the weight-to-power ratio for the associated delivery and containment systems needed for plasma interactions that are inherently imbedded in many of these propulsion systems. In this paper, a review of the superconductor literature is presented, followed by uses of the SCPM in high-performance space propulsion applications.

©2005 American Institute of Physics