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High-current superconducting CORC® wires, wound from RE-Ba2Cu3O7−δ (REBCO) coated conductors, are being developed for use in high-field magnets that would allow operation at magnetic fields exceeding 20 T. The combination of high engineering current densities and high magnetic fields results in large Lorentz forces acting on the CORC® wire that could cause irreversible degradation to its performance. The effect of axial tensile stress on the critical current of CORC® wires containing annealed solid copper formers has been measured in liquid nitrogen to determine the irreversible stress limit at which irreversible degradation occurs. The results show no significant change in critical current before the irreversible stress limit is reached, after which the critical current decreases irreversibly with applied stress. The irreversible stress limit as high as 177 MPa depends on the yield strength of the former, the number of superconducting tapes wound into the CORC® wire and the angle at which the tapes are wound. Although the irreversible stress limit of CORC® wires is lower than a rudimentary rule of mixtures estimation would suggest, the irreversible strain limit, as high as 0.85%, exceeds that of single REBCO tapes. Both effects are likely the result of the helical fashion in which the REBCO tapes are wound into CORC® wires. The performance of CORC® wires was also measured as a function of axial tensile stress fatigue cycling in liquid nitrogen. No significant performance degradation was measured up to 100 000 cycles as long as the peak stress remained below the irreversible stress limit. Only once the peak stress was increased significantly above the irreversible stress limit would the critical current suddenly decrease with stress cycles. The results indicate that CORC® wires have matured into extremely robust high-current magnet conductors capable of withstanding high levels of axial tensile stress and strain. The irreversible stress limit of CORC® wires could be increased further by using stronger formers and winding the REBCO tapes at comparable angles, while the irreversible strain limit could potentially be increased by tailoring the winding angle of the REBCO tapes, making CORC® wires one of the strongest and most elastic high-current superconducting magnet conductors available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-field, low-inductance superconducting magnets in particle accelerators and fusion machines require high operating currents, often in combination with high current densities and for some applications conductor bending radii of less than 50 mm. These requirements form a major challenge for magnet conductors consisting of high-temperature superconductors, which are required for reaching magnetic fields exceeding 20 T, or allowing for operating temperatures above 20 K. The high tolerance of RE-Ba2Cu3O7−δ coated conductors to axial tensile and compressive strain has led to the concept of CORC® cables in an attempt to develop a round and mechanically as well as electrically isotropic, high-performance conductor that would meet these challenging requirements. This review article will outline how CORC® cables evolved from a concept into a practical and robust conductor for high-field magnets and compact superconducting power cables. This review article provides an extensive overview of how CORC® cable technology has overcome most of the challenges associated with its use in large magnets for fusion, particle accelerators and in helium gas cooled power and fault current limiting cables, while further development is ongoing that will push the CORC® cable technology to even higher performance levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the framework for establishing standards of test methods for superconducting technical wires, various standards have been issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) (standard documents IEC 61788-1 to -20). Following the successful round robin test (RRT) for tensile testing REBCO wires at room temperature (Osamura K et al 2014 Supercond. Sci. Technol. 27 085009), this effort is extended to tensile test HTS wires at cryogenic temperatures and is coordinated by the CryoMaK lab at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Five different commercially available REBCO wires from five different manufacturers and one BiSCCO wire from another supplier were provided by the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (http://vamas.org) for testing. Samples were distributed between eight participating labs from five different countries for testing according to the specified guidelines. After the test results were delivered by all participants, the data were evaluated with statistical tools to investigate the main source of scatter and its magnitude in the test results. The final goal of the RRT is issuing an ISO/IEC standard for a cryogenic temperature tensile test for REBCO wires. In this report the results of the RRT for tensile testing REBCO wires at cryogenic temperatures are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting CORC® cables and wires have become practical conductors for use in high-field magnets for fusion machines and particle accelerators by demonstrating their ability to carry very high currents in background magnetic fields of up to 20 T. The high mechanical stresses that develop on the CORC® conductor during such operation could result in permanent degradation of the conductor critical current. Transverse compressive stress is one of the predominant mechanical stresses when CORC® cables or wires are bundled into CICCs that allow fusion and detector magnets to operate at currents as high as 100 kA. The effect of transverse compressive load on the critical current of CORC® cables and wires has been investigated at 76 K to determine their irreversible load limit under monotonic loading and load cycling up to 100 000 cycles. The results show a clear effect of the CORC® conductor layout with respect to gap spacing between tapes, thickness of the copper plating surrounding the tapes and thickness of the former onto which the tapes are wound. CORC® cables and wires have demonstrated a remarkable resilience to transverse compressive load cycling where their critical current decreased by no more than a few percent after 100 000 load cycles at peak loads that resulted in an initial decrease in critical current of less than 5%. The results indicate that no significant degradation of CORC® cable and wire performance due to transverse compressive load is expected in large magnets after 100 000 load cycles, as long as the peak load on the conductor does not exceed the irreversible load limit defined at 95% retention in critical current. The irreversible load limit of CORC® conductors could be increased further by increasing the size or hardness of the former that makes up the conductor’s core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a feasibility study on a high-strength BiPbxSr2Ca2Cu3O(Bi-2223) tape conductor for high-field solenoid applications. The investigated conductor, DI-BSCCO Type HT-XX, is a pre-production version of Type HT-NX, which has recently become available from Sumitomo Electric Industries. It is based on their DI-BSCCO Type H tape, but laminated with a high-strength Ni-alloy. We used stress–strain characterizations, single- and double-bend tests, easy- and hard-way bent coil-turns at various radii, straight and helical samples in up to 31.2 T background field, and small 20-turn coils in up to 17 T background field to systematically determine the electro-mechanical limits in magnet-relevant conditions. In longitudinal tensile tests at 77 K, we found critical stress- and strain-levels of 516 MPa and 0.57%, respectively. In three decidedly different experiments we detected an amplification of the allowable strain with a combination of pure bending and Lorentz loading to (calculated elastically at the outer tape edge). This significant strain level, and the fact that it is multi-filamentary conductor and available in the reacted and insulated state, makes DI-BSCCO HT-NX highly suitable for very high-field solenoids, for which high current densities and therefore high loads are required to retain manageable magnet dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]