Double-Evaporator Thermosiphon for Cooling 100 kWh Class Superconductor Flywheel Energy Storage System Bearings

Abstract

This paper presents an idea for a thermosiphon that uniquely implements two integrated evaporators to cool two HTS (High Temperature Superconductor) bulk sets in different locations, simultaneously. A so-called double-evaporator thermosiphon was designed, fabricated and tested using nitrogen as the working fluid under sub-atmospheric pressure conditions. The operating target temperature was approximately 65 K. To confirm the feasibility of the double-evaporator thermosiphon, experiments during the cool down process and steady state operation were extensively conducted on the double-evaporator thermosiphon (L-tot = 1075 mm, d(o) = 160 mm). The double- evaporator thermosiphon worked successfully at steady state operation. The results showed that it had a maximum total temperature difference between the condenser and the evaporator of 1.3 K and a temperature difference between the two evaporators of 0.6 K at a heat flow of 87 W. This thermosiphon was designed for actual application to a 100 kWh SFES (Superconducting Flywheel Energy Storage) system. The potential impact of superior heat transfer characteristics of the double- evaporator thermosiphon is discussed in the paper.