Magnetic energy storage devices for small scale applications

The author considers basic principles of magnetic energy storage, structure requirements and limitations, configurations of inductors, attributes of high-T_c superconducting materials including thermal instabilities, a relative comparison with the state-of-the-art high energy density power sources, and refrigeration requirements. A review of superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) technology reveals that the advent of high-temperature ceramic superconducting materials and advances in high strength materials and refrigeration technology are likely to facilitate fabrication of smaller SMES units. The design parameters of a micro superconducting magnetic energy unit for Air Force application are presented and discussed