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The highly innovative process, proposed by CNIM and chosen by F4E, is based on a pultrusion technique that involves the manufacture of profiles of epoxy S2-glass. Each pre-compression ring (PCR) is manufactured by winding the flat pultruded profile (2 mm thick and about 2800 m long) and utilizing an adhesive tape (0.12 mm thick) between layers to freeze the geometry. After the curing cycle, the PCR is machined to reach the required geometry tolerances. Each PCR will have a diameter of approximately 5 m, a cross-section of 332 mm × 288 mm and will weigh approximately 3 tons. The PCRs will finally be proof tested at 600 MPa in hoop stress that corresponds to 1.5 time the operational hoop stress. An extensive qualification phase has been released to prove that both materials and manufacturing technology can procure PCRs according to requirements. This paper describes the manufacturing processes, the results of the qualification phase and the status of the production.

The plasma confinement of the International Tokamak Experimental Rector (ITER) is provided by the magnetic field generated by 18 toroidal field (TF) coils while 6 poloidal field (PF) and 6 central solenoid coils have the function to drive, shape and pre-heat the plasma. Fusion for Energy (F4E), the European Domestic Agency for ITER, is responsible for the supply of 10 TF coils and 5 PF coils to the ITER project. The ITER Organization (IO) team is instead responsible for the design of such coils as well for the coordination of the activities of the different Domestic Agencies (DAs) producing the different components, and their assembly into the Tokamak. The PF coils utilize NbTi Cable-in-Conduit-Conductor and have different diameters between 8 and 24 meters and weights of up to 400 tons. Regarding the PF coils produced by F4E, so far one has been completed by the Institute of Plasma Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) under a collaboration agreement with F4E. The other 4 PF coils are being produced at the ITER site in Saint Paul lez Durance, France, under F4E supervision. The first of these (PF5) will be completed by July 2020 while the last coil (PF3) will be ready be the end of 2023. The TF coils utilize Nb3Sn conductor and are manufactured with the “Wind, React & Transfer” method. The first TF coil is close to completion and will be delivered to the ITER site in early 2020. Subsequent TF coils will follow at a rate of about one every 3-4 months. In this article we will report on the production status of both PF and TF coils and, in particular, the different manufacturing strategies employed. The main challenges faced so far and the results obtained are also described.

We have investigated the applied magnetic field, temperature, and self-field dependence of the critical current density of a Nb–Ti strand produced for the ITER poloidal field conductor. Measurements were made on a standard ITER barrel in magnetic fields from 4.0 to 8.0 T and temperatures from 3.5 to 6.0 K. We investigated the effect of self-field by changing the direction of the transport current, resulting in an inward or outward Lorentz force acting on the strand. At 4.2 K and 5 T, the difference in the measured $J_{{\text{C}}}$ between the two Lorentz force polarities was about 1%. From this low value, we conclude that self-field effects in the Nb–Ti strand are about 40% of those expected using standard self-field calculations for fully transposed multifilamentary strands, consistent with theoretical considerations for annular filament transposition.

The European share of the ITER magnet superconductors includes the supply of around 20 km of Toroidal Field and 7 km of Poloidal Field conductors. This represents 20% and 11% of the total conductor amounts respectively needed for all ITER Toroidal Field (TF) and Poloidal Field (PF) coils. For TF conductor, around 97 tons of superconducting niobium tin strand and 60 tons of copper wire are needed to be purchased, cabled and inserted within a stainless steel jacket tube to form the Cable-In-Conduit-Conductor (CICC). For PF conductor, about 45 tons of superconducting multifilamentary niobium titanium wire need to be cabled and jacketed. Altogether, Fusion for Energy (F4E) placed 4 supply contracts for the European TF and PF coil conductors (one for copper strand, two for niobium tin strand and a single contract for cabling and jacketing). In addition, the PF conductor procurement is based on a bi-lateral agreement with the Russian Federation Domestic Agency (RF DA) where NbTi cables are supplied by RF DA and their jacketing is provided by F4E. In this article, the procurement strategy and the current procurement status are reported for the European contribution of TF and PF conductors.

The ITER Conductor Procurement Arrangement requires that all the conductors have to be qualified before the production phase. The objects of the work here presented are the Poloidal Field Coils conductors, specifically the PF1/6 and the PF2 conductors. The realization of the samples comprised the jacketing, the compaction and the straightening of the CICC, together with the design and manufacturing of the bottom hairpin box and the upper termination. The instrumentation and the related jacket machining completed the preparation of the samples. The samples have been assembled according to the specification defined by ITER and have been shipped to SULTAN facility. This paper describes all the activities performed during the preparation, the features of the samples and all the related issues.

We report on a multi-institute comparison of critical current data measured on a modern NbTi wire for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which has shown a standard deviation below 1% in critical current density spread in more than 1500 measurements. Interlaboratory comparisons on Nb3Sn wires have shown ambiguities that could be attributable to strain related differences in critical current density, originating from differences in sample handling, reaction, and mounting techniques, or also to differences in the magnetic field and current calibrations between the institutes. A round robin test of a well characterized NbTi wire provides a baseline variance in critical current results that is presumed to be attributable only to differences in the characterization systems. Systematic differences on the order of 3.5% are found in the comparison. The most likely cause for the observed differences is a small diameter holder that brings the wire into a strain regime in which strain effects can no longer be ignored. A NbTi round robin test, when performed properly, will separate system differences from sample specific differences and provide laboratories with an opportunity to calibrate equipment against a standard measurement.

For the Next European Dipole (NED) program, a Powder-In-Tube (PIT) strand was successfully developed by SMI. This high-performance Nb$_{3}$Sn strand presents a non-copper critical current density of ~ 2500 A/mm2 at 12 T applied field and 4.2 K and a filament diameter around 50 µm. Extensive heat treatment optimization studies were performed in order to maximize both critical current and RRR, with a plateau temperature down to 625 oC and duration up to 400 hours. It appears that a critical current enhancement of ~ 10 % can be achieved for a reaction schedule of 320 hours at 625 oC with non-copper critical current density respectively exceeding 2700 and 1500 A/mm2 at 12 and 15 T (4.2 K). Thanks to this modified heat treatment, this strand completely fulfils the NED stringent specification.

A study of the critical current of a PIT strand under transverse compressive and axial tensile loads is presented. The conductor is not reinforced and has a proof strength, , of 142 MPa. Although the tensile strain at the maximum of the critical current, , is only 0.14% (low thermal precompression) the strand behaves as expected. However it is particularly sensitive to transverse compressive forces. Even relatively small forces yield to a reduction of the critical current. Qualitatively this degradation may be explained by a non-uniform deformation of filaments, yielding to irreversible micro cracks, and by a reduced of intact filaments. The recovery of upon unloading of the transverse compressive force has also been investigated.

The next European dipole (NED) activity is aimed at the development of a large-aperture, high-field superconducting magnet relying on high-performances conductors. Part of the NED program is devoted to the mechanical study of a new generation of wires and to predict and describe their behavior under the severe loading conditions of the cabling process. A Finite Element modelization of wires was developed, allowing the wire behavior under simple uni-axial loads to be described. In this paper, the mechanical performances of different strand configurations are compared. The external diameter of the wire being fixed, several parameters are taken into account: the total number of sub-elements, the composition of the sub-elements, the local copper-to-non-copper ratio, the number of copper cells in the central region. The aim is to isolate the influence of each parameter on the wire deformations, trying to find an optimum design minimizing cabling damages.

The next European dipole (NED) activity is aimed at the development of a large-aperture, high-field superconducting magnet relying on high-performances Nb3Sn conductors. Part of the NED program is devoted to the mechanical study of a new generation of Nb3Sn wires and to predict and describe their behavior under the severe loading conditions of the cabling process. The deformation resulting from the cabling process was simulated through mechanical analyses by finite elements (FE). The ensuing results of FE analyses are presented, allowing the wire behavior under simple uni-axial loads to be described. They are compared to cross section micrographs of deformed wires.

The knowledge of the critical current density in a wide temperature and applied magnetic field range is a crucial issue for the design of a superconducting magnet, especially for determining both current and temperature margins. The critical current density of LHC-type Nb-Ti strands of 0.82 and 0.48 mm diameter was measured by means of critical current and magnetization measurements at both 4.2 K and 1.9 K and for a broad magnetic field range (up to 11 T). For the magnetic field range common to both measurement methods, critical current density values as extracted from transport current and from magnetization data are compared and found fairly consistent. Our experimental data are compared to other sets from literature and to scaling laws as well

The Nb-Ti hard conductors used in LHC dipole and quadrupole magnets are Rutherford cables composed of several tens of strands. During the cabling process, the strands are severely compacted especially at the thin edge of the cable. In order to assess, on the whole wire length, the deformation effect on the transport current of the wires, LHC-type Nb-Ti superconducting strands of various types were flattened by means of rollers. The critical current was then measured as a function of deformation and applied magnetic field at both 4.3 K and 1.9 K. The measurements were performed for both orientations (flat face perpendicular or parallel to magnetic field). The critical current density anisotropy of such deformed strands and the correlation with magnetization effects are discussed. This study permits to better understand and to quantify the critical current degradation of few percent observed in strands due to cabling. Comparisons with wires extracted from Rutherford cables are presented

The Next European Dipole (NED) project is a EU funded program aiming at the realization of a 15 T accelerator-type of Nb3Sn dipole magnet. The objective of NED phase one is developing high performance Nb3Sn conductor in collaboration with European industry. The envisaged Rutherford type of cable consists of about 40 superconducting strands exhibiting a noncopper critical current density of 1500 A/mm2 at 4.2 K and 15 T. In the frame of conductor development, adequate critical current measurements in terms of accuracy and reproducibility should be ensured to qualify the ambitious strands produced. Therefore, a NED working group focuses at the establishment and implementation of appropriate and standardized procedures for sample preparation and mounting, critical current measurement, data analysis and reporting. A cross-calibration program between the institutes involved has been initiated by exchanging samples of Nb3Sn conductor from a single billet for critical current measurements, prepared at each institute. The experimental results of this program and the conclusive procedures for NED critical current measurements are presented and discussed

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) cable-in-conduit conductor used in the superconducting magnet system consists of a cable made of 300 to 1440 strands housed in a stainless steel tube (called as jacket or conduit). There are circular, square, as well as circle-in-square jackets, made of either a very low carbon AISI 316LN and AISI 316L grade stainless steels, or a high Mn austenitic stainless steel developed for ITER called JK2LB. Selected mechanical properties of the base material and weld joint were tested at room temperature and/or cryogenic temperatures (

In the above titled paper (ibid., vol. 22, no. 3, p. 4802606, June 2012), there are errors in (2). The correct formula is presented here.

Superconductors for the ITER Poloidal Field Coils are large cable-in-conduit conductors (CICC) made of NbTi strands encased in a round-in-square stainless steel jacket. Three prototype conductor sections for poloidal field coils PF1/6, PF2/3/4 and PF5 have been fabricated in collaboration of the domestic RF, CN and EU agencies and tested in SULTAN Test Facility at the nominal operating conditions. The test aimed to characterize the DC and AC behavior of the conductors. The DC test was focused on the current sharing temperature (T-cs) at the nominal operating current and nominal operating background field. The take-off electric field at the nominal Helium mass flow rate was investigated versus the cable current density over a broad range of field and temperature. The AC loss measurement was performed before any electromagnetic loading and after a number of load cycles in order to define the impact of cyclic loads on the coupling currents constant of the cable. From the test results in SULTAN test facility, the margins in normal operation and the limits of the operation range of the ITER PF conductors are assessed.

The ITER machine will require approximately 250 tons of NbTi strands and 500 tons of Nb3Sn strands. NbTi will be used in the Poloidal Field (PF) coils, Correction Coils (CC) and feeder busbars, whereas Nb3Sn will be used in the Central Solenoid (CS) and Toroidal Field (TF) coils. The large amount of superconducting strands needed requires worldwide procurement, involving suppliers from six of the seven ITER Domestic Agencies (DAs). To ensure reliable test results, it is necessary to benchmark the test facilities at each supplier and at each DA reference laboratory for physical and superconducting properties measurement, as well as sample preparation techniques. Following previous benchmarking efforts related to ITER procurement in the mid-1990's and to supplier and DA laboratory qualification performed on bronze route Nb3Sn strands in 2009, we report here the latest rounds on internal tin Nb3Sn and NbTi strands. Ten participants from five DAs (China, EU, South Korea, Russia, and the U.S.) together with CERN (the ITER Organisation's reference laboratory) took part in the benchmarking of internal tin Nb3Sn strands, and six participants from China and Russia, plus CERN, participated in the benchmarking of NbTi strands.