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The resistance of high temperature superconductor (HTS) lap joints under compressive loading is measured and two different HTS tape configurations are tested. The results have shown that joint resistances less than 2 [micro][omega] are possible with only light joint loading configuration.

An electromagnetic bougienage method has used magnetic forces generated between magnetic bullets by a background magnetic field. Analytical methods are developed to obtain the magnetic forces on bougienage bullets and the results have agreed well with the experimental results.

Voltage-current characteristics of semiconductor contact junctions between superconducting wires are examined by means of a voltage-driving method.

Fabrication and testing of a high temperature superconductor (HTS) Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) levitation coil is described and discussed.

An overview is presented of research needs involving superconducting magnets for fusion applications.

Tests of NbTi superconducting prototype quadrupole magnets, built for the High Current Transport Experiment (HCX), are described and discussed.

Design of the Muon-to-Electron Conversion Experiment (MECO) solenoids is described and discussed.

The Levitated Dipole Experiment approach to the study of magnetic confinement of a fusion plasma, using a superconducting ring coil, is described.

Experiments with local field sensors are described.

The test program for a second lap joint sample conducted at the MIT Pulse Test Facility is described. Test was conducted in both parallel and transverse time-varying fields at ramp rates from 0.05 to 1.5T/s and background induction to 4T to qualify its performance subject to ITER-relevant operating conditions. The joint was observed to have a dc resistance below 2.5 nOhm and pulsed, transverse field losses for a 1.5s ramp at 0.4T/s below 90J.

A magnetic Pulse Test Facility was built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Fusion Center for testing cable-in-conduit conductor electrical joints for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. The remote-controlled facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art, multiple channel data acquisition system for digitally recorded sensor signal processing. ITER teams can securely access test data from the facility 24-hours a day through the Internet.

The current distribution of each of the 12 strands of a Nb3Sn cable-in-conduit conductor was measured during current/external magnetic field ramping. The strand currents exhibited severe non-uniformity before quenching. A simple model was developed to represent the ramp rate phenomenon causing the peculiarities in the current characteristics of the conductor strands.

A pulsed magnetic field test facility is under construction at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for testing large scale cable-in-conduit superconductor and joint samples. Separate, demountable split-pair solenoid and saddle coils provide a combination of fields which can be either transverse or parallel to the sample axis. The solenoid and saddle magnets together can provide transverse peak fields as high as 8.4 T. Peak parallel fields of 6.6 T can be generated with the solenoid alone. Ramp-up rates of 1.5 T/s and ramp-down rates of 20 T/s are possible. Sample currents up to 50 kA are provided by a superconducting current transformer. The sample is connected to the transformer secondary through a pair of low resistance joints. Supercritical helium is provided to the sample at flow rates up to 20 g/s, pressures up to 1 MPa, and temperatures from 4.7 to 10 K. Programmable logic controllers provide coordination of the magnetic field, sample current, and helium flow rate and temperature in the sample. Sample and facility instrumentation signals are processed and data is stored on a workstation-based data acquisition system with comprehensive data reduction capability. Facility details and status are described.