This page supports a
reference list, with hyperlinks and a brief description of each
and in rough historical order, to key published technical papers underlying each
of the technology components of the SuperGrid concept.
Garwin -
Matisoo
R. L. Garwin and J. Matisoo, “Superconducting Lines
for the Transmission of Large Amounts of Electrical Power over
Great Distances,” Proc. IEEE 55, 538 (1967).
In my opinion, this is the watershed paper for
superconducting cables, and written by two IBM scientists (one
of whom became my boss)...not exactly utility engineers.
Essential reading!
Bartlit - Eduskuty - Hammel
J. R. Bartlit, F. J. Edeskuty and E. F. Hammel, “Multiple Use
of Cryogenic Fluid Transmission Lines,” Proc. ICEC4, Eindhoven,
24/26 May 1972.
This prescient study from LANL explores the dual delivery of
methane and/or hydrogen as energy agents in a "SuperCable"
concept. However, neither serves as a cryogen...liquid
hydrogen was necessary...the discovery of high temperature
superconductivity was still 13 years in the future!
Haney - Hammond
D.
E. Haney and R. Hammond, “Refrigeration and Heat Transfer in
Superconducting Power Lines,” Stanford Report 275.05-75-2,
April, 1975.
This report, performed under research supported by the NSF,
details early work on the use of liquid hydrogen as a cryogen
for a low temperature superconducting...it does not go into the
transport of hydrogen as energy agent, however. At
present, I do not have a complete pdf copy, so this link is only
to the hydrogen chapter. I will have the full report
soon...stay tuned.
Schoenung - Hassenzahl - Grant
S. M. Schoenung, W. V. Hassenzahl and P. M. Grant, “System
Study of Long Distance Low Voltage Transmission Using High
Temperature Superconducting Cable,” EPRI Report WO8065-12,
March, 1997 (Work performed as an EPRI Exploratory Research
"Public Benefit" project).
This study was prompted by an ABB study of the relative
costs of overhead HVDC compared to natural gas pipelines from
Qatar to an imaginary future industrial complex located around
Israel/Palestine/Egypt/Syria/Lebanon. LVDC cables
using HTSC wire at
$5/kA×m at 65 Kelvin win! Have a look.
Grant (ASC-96)
P. M. Grant, “Superconductivity and Electric Power: Promises,
Promises…Past, Present and Future,” IEEE Trans. Appl. Super.
7, 112 (1997).
A great cosmic paper (of course!) on applications of HTSC to
power apps, including cables. A little dated by now, but
the principles are invariant! And especially the
references, which are classic.
Grant (2000 DOE PR)
P. M. Grant, "CryoEnCom: A Cryogenic-based
Energy/Communications Delivery Concept," EPRI Poster at the 2000
DOE Peer Review (2000).
A somewhat whimsical and imaginary "greensite" community,"
Laguna Genome," in Durango on the Gulf of California, whose
energy and communications requirements are met by a symbiosis of
nuclear/hydrogen/superconductivity/DSL technologies. The
spiritual forerunner of SuperCity.
Grant (2001 DOE PR)
P. M. Grant, "CryoEnCom Revisited," EPRI Poster at the 2001
DOE Peer Review (2001).
A reprise given in August, 2001, of the 2000 Peer Review
poster in the context of the discovery of superconductivity in
MgB
2. Much more attention was paid to the role
of liquid hydrogen, and the figures became those used in my
later TIP papers.
Grant - Sheahen
P. M. Grant and T. P. Sheahen, "Cost Projections for High
Temperature Superconductors,"
http://arxiv.org/ftp/cond-mat/papers/0202/0202386.pdf,
Applied Superconductivity Conference, Palm Springs, CA, 1998.
An engineering-economy based approach to estimating eventual
cost/performance of both Generation 1 (OPIT/BSCCO/Ag) and
Generation 2 coated conductor (textured YBCO) HTSC tape.
Unlike wires made from non-superconducting metals, e.g., copper,
the cost/performance in $/kA×m of HTSC tapes is highly
application specific and cannot be reduced to a single number.
Grant (MgB2, The Industrial Physicist)
P. M. Grant, “Will MgB2 Work?” The Industrial
Physicist, October – November, 2001, p. 22.
This article is a commentary on possible applications of the
newly discovered superconductor, magnesium diboride, first
announced in January, 2001. It reveals the basic concepts
of "SuperCity," a vision of a residential, light industrial
complex based on nuclear power generated electricity and
hydrogen delivered to the end user via a "SuperCable." The
figure on my SuperGrid home page is taken from this paper.
Grant (SuperCity, The Industrial Physicist)
P.
M. Grant, “Energy for the City of the Future,” The Industrial
Physicist, February – March, 2002, p. 22.
This paper
elaborates and details the SuperCity concept. Its
publication engendered one of the largest number of
letters-to-the-editor sent to the magazine,
The Industrial
Physicist, and engineering the vision became the subject of
an undergraduate physics honor's course at the University of
Maryland.
Starr (SuperGrid, Nuclear News)
C. Starr, "National Energy Planning for the Century: The
Continental SuperGrid," Nuclear News 45, 31 (2002).
Chauncey Starr's call to construct, over the next five decades,
a combined national energy generation, transmission and
distribution system based on nuclear, hydrogen and
superconducting technologies.
2002 SuperGrid
Workshop Report
T. J. Overbye, C. Starr, P. M. Grant, and T. R. Schneider,
"National Energy SuperGrid Workshop Report," 6-8 November 2002,
Palo Alto, CA.
Here are the findings of the original SuperGrid workshop,
concluding that the concept is technically sound, and most
importantly, can be accomplished with vigorous application of
present and emerging technology.
Grant (Hydrogen Lifts Off...)
P. M. Grant, “Hydrogen Lifts Off – With a Heavy Load,”
Nature 424, 129 (2003).
A commentary on the Bush Administration's "Hydrogen Economy"
initiative, concluding that it can only be realized with nuclear
power generated hydrogen through hydrolysis, if massive
environmental damage and large scale eco-invasion is to be
avoided.
Grant
(The SuperCable - IEEE PCSE 2004)
P. M. Grant, "The SuperCable: Dual Delivery of Hydrogen and
Electric Power," Proc. IEEE Power Eng. Soc.,
Panel Session on Future Power Delivery Options for
Long-Term Energy Sustainability, 10-13
October 2004, New York, Pages 1745 - 1749, Vol. 3, Digital
Object Identifier 10.1099/PSCE.2004.1397675 (
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org).
Herein are contained some scoping engineering calculations
for the SuperCable design. See also "
SuperCable
- The Talk."
Myers - Elkins (Undergound Nukes)
W. Myers and N. Elkins, "Siting nuclear plants underground:
Old idea, new circumstances," Nuclear News 47 (13), 33
(November, 2004).
Myers and Elkins revisit some old concepts of Sakharov and
Teller regarding construction of nuclear plants underground.
These two LANL workers use as an embodiment the extensive
Carlsbad salt fields of Old and New Mexico. This is a
great article, but a long download, a 25 MB pdf file.
Better play
Roddy McCorley while you wait.
Grant (SuperCity - Nuclear Future)
P.
M. Grant, "Nuclear
Energy's Contribution to the City of the Future," Nuclear Future, Vol. 1, No. 1, p.17 (2005).
The inaugural article for the new UK nuclear industry
magazine, Nuclear Future, essentially a compendium of the TIP
and Nature pieces above. The second paper in this issue is
by some guy named El Baradei.
Grant (The SuperCable - ASC)
P. M. Grant, "The SuperCable: Dual Delivery of Chemical and
Electric Power," IEEE Trans. Appl. Super. 15, 1810 (2005).
This paper discusses SuperCable prospects for the delivery
of chemical power in the form of either liquid hydrogen,
supercritical hydrogen gas at 77 K, or as liquid methane, and
defines a geometry-independent universal dimensionless scaling
parameter to determine relative amounts of chemical and electric
power flow.
