${\rm MgB}_{2}$ Sample Tests for Possible Applications of Superconducting Fault Current Limiters

Cheap to make and easy to shape, Magnesium Di-boride (MgB2) throws the field of applied superconductivity wide open. Great efforts have been made to develop a superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) using MgB2. With a superconducting transition temperature of 39 K, MgB2 can be conveniently cooled with commercial cryocoolers. A cryogenic desktop test system, an ac pulse generation system and a real time data acquisition program in LabView/DAQmx were developed to investigate the quench behavior of MgB2 wires under pulse overcurrents at 25 K in self-field conditions. The experimental results on the current limitation behavior show the possibilities for using MgB2 for future SFCL applications.