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The tests of the toroidal field model coil (TFMC) were completed in 2002 in the TOSKA facility of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany. Operation reached a combined 80 kA in the TFMC and 16 kA in the LCT coil, resulting in a peak electromechanical load very close to that expected in the full-size ITER TF coils (800 kN/m). Here we concentrate on the measurements of the current sharing temperature T/sub cs/ of the TFMC conductor, possibly the highlight of the whole test campaign. These tests were performed by increasing in steps the helium inlet temperature T/sub in/ in double pancake DP1, resulting in an increasing normal voltage V across the DP1.1 and DP1.2 conductors, and were repeated for several combinations of currents in the TFMC and in the LCT coil. The analysis of the V - T/sub in/ characteristic by means of the M&M code allows to self-consistently deriving an estimate of T/sub cs/, as well as an indirect assessment of the "average" strain state in the conductor. The TFMC isolated strand has also been very recently characterized at different applied uniaxial strain, and preliminary results indicate a stronger reduction of carrying capacity compared to the extrapolation from Summers scaling used in the analysis so far. As a consequence, the performance of the TFMC conductor, as preliminarily re-evaluated here, appears more in line with the strand performance than in previous analysis, although a BI-dependent "degradation" is still present.

The influence of neutron irradiation on the angular, field and temperature dependence of the critical transportcurrent density J c of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 d (Y-123) thick films, as well as on the irreversibility fields was investigated. Thespecimens were deposited by liquid phase epitaxy either directly on NdGaO 3 or on seeded (100)MgO substrates with afinal Y-123 layer thickness of 1 and 5–10 lm, respectively. XRD of the superconducting layers proves good in-planeand out-of-plane alignments with FWHMs below 2 . The specimens showed excellent irreversible properties withcritical current densities of up to 3 10 9 A/m 2 at zero field and 77 K and irreversibility fields above 7 T at 77 K for Hkcprior to neutron irradiation, which was performed in fast neutron fluence steps of 10 21 m 2 , corresponding to 5 10 21 defect cascades per m 3 per step. J c enhancements by 100% and an anisotropy reduction by a factor of 2 are achieved atthe optimum neutron fluence. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report on the field and temperature dependence of the critical transport current density Jc, the angular dependence of the transport current at various external magnetic fields and the irreversibility fields in YBa2Cu3O7?? (Y-123) thick films prepared by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). A comparison of the irreversible properties between specimens produced with and without silver additions to the melt is also presented. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to obtain information on the correlation between the transport properties and the microstructure. The samples were deposited either directly on NdGaO3 (NGO) or on seeded (100) MgO substrates, where a 200 nm thin YBCO film deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) acts as seed layer for the LPE process. The final thickness of the Y-123 layer is of the order of 1 ?m for the NGO and between 2 and 10 ?m for the MgO samples. The critical current densities reach 3 ? 109 A m?2 at zero field and 77 K in the best case.

Results on the angular and the field dependence of the critical transport current density as well as on the temperature dependence of the irreversibility fields in YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// coated conductors are presented. The films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition on (Y/sub 2/O/sub 3//YSZ/CeO/sub 2/) triple buffer structures. Either textured magnetic Ni-Fe alloys or recently developed nonmagnetic Ni-Cr-W alloys with good biaxial texture (8.4/spl deg/ and 9.4/spl deg/ for /spl omega/ and /spl phi/ scans) were used as substrates. The influence of artificial pinning centers, introduced by fast neutron irradiation, on the irreversible properties of the YBCO films is discussed.

High critical current densities (J/sub c/) are required for applications, but grain boundaries suppress the attainable J/sub c/ values. Because of the presence of 90/spl deg/ grain boundaries and because of poor structural and electrical properties, a-axis thin films are of great interest to investigate the role played by Y/sub 0.8/Ca/sub 0.2/Ba/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// (YCaBCO) cap layers in the transport properties. The transport critical current densities of the films under various magnetic fields and the angular dependence of J/sub c/ at fixed temperature were measured before and after irradiation. A thin YCaBCO cap layer deposited on top of a-axis oriented YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// (YBCO) films, is found to improve the electrical transport properties. Ca-doping decreases the resistivity and strongly increases J/sub c/ of a-axis oriented YBCO films. Furthermore, strong pinning by 90/spl deg/ grain boundaries was observed.

The inter- and intragranular critical current densities were determined for different types of coated conductors as well as mono- and multifilamentary (BiPb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox tapes. Either the inter- or the intragranular critical current density was changed systematically by bending the tapes or by neutron irradiation, respectively. Thus, we are able to assess these two critical current densities, even in samples with very good grain connectivity.

Coated conductors deposited by a novel high-rate pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique on ion-beam-assisted-deposition (IBAD) layers of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) on non-magnetic steel ribbons were investigated. An XRD analysis of the superconducting layers showed in-plane alignments with a FWHM from 10 to 25/spl deg/ and an out-of-plane alignment of better than 2/spl deg/. We report on the field and temperature dependence of the critical transport current density in these YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// films of various thickness. In addition, the angular dependence of the transport current at various external magnetic fields is presented. Thirdly, artificial pinning centers were introduced into the superconductors by neutron irradiation. The influence of these defects on the critical current densities and on the anisotropy ratio are discussed.

For the ITER Central Solenoid (CS), with Nb 3 Sn CICCs that operate under fast ramping conditions, the selection of the twist pitch lengths can have a significant impact on the performance. The critical current and temperature margin are influenced by the thermal contraction of the composite materials, the transverse electromagnetic forces, and coupling currents. The numerical cable model JackPot-ACDC is developed to calculate the interstrand coupling loss for any time-dependent current and magnet field for all strand trajectories in a CICC. It was a priori predicted that the amount of coupling loss and critical current degradation is subject to interference due to different subcable twist pitches. Here test results are discussed of the ITER CS conductor sample, manufactured according to the proposed design, optimizing the transverse load degradation, the temperature margin, and the coupling loss.

The differences in thermal contraction of the composite materials in a cable in conduit conductor (CICC) for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in combination with electromagnetic charging, cause axial, transverse contact and bending strains in the Nb3Sn filaments. These local loads cause distributed strain alterations, reducing the superconducting transport properties. The sensitivity of ITER strands to different strain loads is experimentally explored with dedicated probes. The starting point of the characterization is measurement of the critical current under axial compressive and tensile strain, determining the strain sensitivity and the irreversibility limit corresponding to the initiation of cracks in the Nb3Sn filaments for axial strain. The influence of spatial periodic bending and contact load is evaluated by using a wavelength of 5 mm. The strand axial tensile stress–strain characteristic is measured for comparison of the axial stiffness of the strands. Cyclic loading is applied for transverse loads following the evolution of the critical current, n-value and deformation. This involves a component representing a permanent (plastic) change and as well as a factor revealing reversible (elastic) behavior as a function of the applied load. The experimental results enable discrimination in performance reduction per specific load type and per strand type, which is in general different for each manufacturer involved. Metallographic filament fracture studies are compared to electromagnetic and mechanical load test results. A detailed multifilament strand model is applied to analyze the quantitative impact of strain sensitivity, intrastrand resistances and filament crack density on the performance reduction of strands and full-size ITER CICCs. Although a full-size conductor test is used for qualification of a strand manufacturer, the results presented here are part of the ITER strand verification program. In this paper, we present an overview of the results and comparisons.

The influence of the expected Lorentz loading and time dependent operating conditions of a magnet on the conductor AC loss is experimentally simulated by a cryogenic cable press that applies cyclic mechanical loading. A series of ITER conductor tests with the press have commenced and we report on the results from the first set of two TF conductors, which have the option-II cabling scheme but consist of NB3Sn strands from different manufacturers. With the press, we apply a transverse load of 578 kN/m and the load cycle is repeated up to 30,000 times. As a function of load cycles, we measure the cable mechanical stiffness, interstrand contact resistances, and the coupling loss. When compared with a previously measured option-II type conductor, the present conductors have higher initial losses. However, they showed greater cable displacement and larger increase in contact resistance with load cycles. This is due to the lower cable stiffness thought to be related to the lower axial strand stiffness, resulting in greater cable displacement than the previous cable. Consequently, the two conductors tested here have lower losses already within the first few cycles.

The world-wide procurement of Nb$_{3}$Sn and NbTi for the ITER superconducting magnet systems will involve eight to ten strand suppliers from six Domestic Agencies (DAs) on three continents. To ensure accurate and consistent measurement of the physical and superconducting properties of the composite strand, a strand test facility benchmarking effort was initiated in August 2008. The objectives of this effort are to assess and improve the superconducting strand test and sample preparation technologies at each DA and supplier, in preparation for the more than ten thousand samples that will be tested during ITER procurement. The present benchmarking includes tests for critical current (I-c), n-index, hysteresis loss (Q(hys)), residual resistivity ratio (RRR), strand diameter, Cu fraction, twist pitch, twist direction, and metal plating thickness (Cr or Ni). Nineteen participants from six parties (China, EU, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States) have participated in the benchmarking. This round, conducted with a bronze-route Nb$_{3}$Sn strand, involved samples prepared by a common laboratory (CERN) and sent out to the participants ({''}IO-prepared samples{''}) and also samples prepared by each individual participant ({''}self-prepared samples{''}). I-c samples prepared and measured by CERN were found to have an average I-c of 188.7 A and a standard deviation of 1.8 A (1.0\%), while those same set of samples measured by all the participating labs in round-robin fashion were found to have a standard deviation of 2.1 A. Self-prepared samples had an average I-c of 188.1 A, and showed a lab-to-lab standard deviation of 3.5 A. The results demonstrate significant progress in the world-wide capability to accurately and reproducibly measure Nb$_{3}$Sn critical current over the past decade. Future benchmarking efforts will include an annual cross-check of supplier and DA facilities, and also a round of internal tin Nb$_{3}$Sn samples to assess each contributor's sample-preparation techniques. A separate round of NbTi benchmarking is also envisioned.

The torodial‐field (TF) magnet coils for ITER are made by superconducting cable in conduit conductors (CICC) using 316LN for the conduit. Compaction of the conduit and heat treatment to react the Nb3Sn material are one of the main steps during manufacture of this type of conductor. Therefore a systematic investigation was done to examine the influence of compaction and heat treatment on the mechanical behavior of this material. Several 316LN tubes were deformed to smaller radii to obtain different stages of compaction, followed by a heat treatment. From these tubes flat specimen were made by electron‐discharge‐machining (EDM) for tensile tests. The results are reported and compared to former tests on samples either compacted or heat treated.

In this paper we report the main test results obtained on the Poloidal Field Conductor Insert coil (PFI) for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), built jointly by the EU and RF ITER parties, recently installed and tested in the CS Model Coil facility, at JAEA-Naka. During the test we (a) verified the DC and AC operating margin of the NbTi Cable-in-Conduit Conductor in conditions representative of the operation of the ITER PF coils, (b) measured the intermediate conductor joint resistance, margin and loss, and (c) measured the AC loss of the conductor and its changes once subjected to a significant number of Lorentz force cycles. We compare the results obtained to expectations from strand and cable characterization, which were studied extensively earlier. We finally discuss the implications for the ITER PF system.

Several prototype Cable‐In‐Conduit‐Conductors (CICC) for the superconducting EDIPO (Efda DIPOle) revealed a degradation of their critical current (Ic) increasing with each loading cycle. The strong Lorentz‐forces during operation in combination with the limited support of the single strands against these forces are thought to be the cause of the permanent degradation of the brittle Nb3Sn superconductor from which the multi‐stranded CICC are made. In summer 2006 EFDA started to explore the possibility to remedy the Ic degradation by solder‐filling the conductor in order to mechanically stabilize the twisted‐strand cable inside the conduit. This solution was not considered as the main one, but as an emergency solution to be applied to the completed magnet, should every other option fail. The solder‐filling approach was previously applied with success in some cases. Some issues, however, needed to be clarified before this solution could be proposed for the EDIPO project. The most important among them are the choice of solder material, details of the solder filling process, and the thermo‐mechanical implications of a solder‐filled, high‐field, high‐current cable. This work, being reported here, made use not only of simulation but also of experiments, such as the mechanical testing of solder filled cables at cryogenic temperatures.

Two short length samples have been prepared and tested in SULTAN to benchmark the performance of high current density, advanced Nb3Sn strands in the large cable-in-conduit conductors (CICC) for ITER. The cable pattern and jacket layout were identical to the toroidal field model coil conductor (TFMC), tested in 1999. The four conductor sections used strands from OST, EAS, OKSC and OCSI respectively. The Cu:non-Cu ratio was 1 for three of the new strands, compared to 1.5 in the TFMC strand. The conductors with OST and OKSC strands had one Cu wire for two Nb3Sn strands, as in TFMC. In the EAS and OCSI conductors, all the 1080 strands in the cable were Nb3Sn. A dc test under relevant load conditions and a thermal-hydraulic campaign was carried out in SULTAN. The CICC performance was strongly degraded compared to the strand for all the four conductors. The current sharing temperature at the ITER TF operating conditions (jop = 286 A/mm2, B = 11.15 T) was lower than requested by ITER.

During ITER plasma operation, large thermal loads are generated in the stainless steel Toroidal Field (TF) coil casing. To minimize the impact on the temperature of the TF Cable in Conduit Conductor (CICC), these heat loads are intercepted by case cooling channels which are implemented at the interface to the winding pack. One of the design options for the case cooling channels consists of a stainless steel pipe inserted in a rectangular groove which is machined in the casing and filled by a charged resin of high thermal conductivity. A higher number of cooling pipes is arranged at the plasma facing wall of the case, thus providing a better shielding to the TF conductor at high field. To assess the efficiency of the cooling pipes and their thermal coupling with the charged resin, experimental characterizations have been performed. First of all, the thermal resistance vs temperature of some of the individual components of a TF coil has been measured on representative samples in a cryogenic bench. Further characterizations have been performed on an integrated mock-up of the TF cooling scheme at cryogenic temperature in HELIOS test facility at CEA Grenoble. The mock-up consists of a piece of TF casing that can be heated uniformly on its surface, one cooling channel implemented in the groove which is filled with the charged resin, the filler, the ground insulation, the radial plate and one insulated CICC. The cooling pipe and the CICC are cooled by supercritical helium at 4.4 K and 5 bar; the instrumentation consists of temperature, pressure and mass flow sensors. Both stationary and transient operating modes have been investigated to assess the thermal efficiency of the case cooling design. The experimental tests are presented and the first results are discussed and analyzed in this document.

Small angle neutron diffraction was used to image the flux line lattice (FLL) in a large superconducting (La 1− x Sr x ) 2 CuO 4 (La-2 1 4) single crystal for the first time. Diffraction patterns were obtained in fields up to 0.2 T and at several temperatures (3–26 K). We find an intensity ring instead of peaks, which proves the existence of a polycrystalline flux line lattice in La-2 1 4. We relate this observation to the structural phase transition of the compound at about 200 K, which destroys the single crystalline character of the sample in the plane perpendicular to the c -axis.

The performance of the toroidal field (TF) magnet conductors for the ITER machine are qualified by a short full-size sample (4 m) current sharing temperature (T-cs) test in the SULTAN facility at CRPP in Villigen, Switzerland, using the operating current of 68 kA and the design peak field of 11.8 T. Several samples, including at least one from each of the six ITER Domestic Agencies participating in TF conductor fabrication (China, European Union, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States), have been qualified by the ITER Organization after achieving T-cs values of 6.0-6.9 K, after 700-1000 electromagnetic cycles. These T-cs values exceed the ITER specification and enabled the industrial production of these long-lead items for the ITER tokamak to begin in each Domestic Agency. Some of these samples did not pass the qualification test. In this paper, we summarize the performance of the qualified samples, analyze the effect of strand performance on conductor performance, and discuss the details of the test results.

Results on the angular and the field dependence of the critical transport current density as well as on the temperature dependence of the irreversibility fields in YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// coated conductors are presented. The films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition on (Y/sub 2/O/sub 3//YSZ/CeO/sub 2/) triple buffer structures. Either textured magnetic Ni-Fe alloys or recently developed nonmagnetic Ni-Cr-W alloys with good biaxial texture (8.4/spl deg/ and 9.4/spl deg/ for /spl omega/ and /spl phi/ scans) were used as substrates. The influence of artificial pinning centers, introduced by fast neutron irradiation, on the irreversible properties of the YBCO films is discussed.

Taking the relay of the large Hadron collider (LHC) at CERN, ITER has become the largest project in applied superconductivity. In addition to its technical complexity, ITER is also a management challenge as it relies on an unprecedented collaboration of seven partners, representing more than half of the world population, who provide 90% of the components as in-kind contributions. The ITER magnet system is one of the most sophisticated superconducting magnet systems ever designed, with an enormous stored energy of 51?GJ. It involves six of the ITER partners. The coils are wound from cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) made up of superconducting and copper strands assembled into a multistage cable, inserted into a conduit of butt-welded austenitic steel tubes. The conductors for the toroidal field (TF) and central solenoid (CS) coils require about 600?t of Nb3Sn strands while the poloidal field (PF) and correction coil (CC) and busbar conductors need around 275?t of Nb?Ti strands. The required amount of Nb3Sn strands far exceeds pre-existing industrial capacity and has called for a significant worldwide production scale up. The TF conductors are the first ITER components to be mass produced and are more than 50% complete. During its life time, the CS coil will have to sustain several tens of thousands of electromagnetic (EM) cycles to high current and field conditions, way beyond anything a large Nb3Sn coil has ever experienced. Following a comprehensive R&D program, a technical solution has been found for the CS conductor, which ensures stable performance versus EM and thermal cycling. Productions of PF, CC and busbar conductors are also underway. After an introduction to the ITER project and magnet system, we describe the ITER conductor procurements and the quality assurance/quality control programs that have been implemented to ensure production uniformity across numerous suppliers. Then, we provide examples of technical challenges that have been encountered and we present the status of ITER conductor production worldwide.

The magnetic moments were measured on twinned YBa2Cu3O x crystals with different oxygen contents (x ≈6.9 and x = 6.6). The crystals were detwinned at a temperature of 380under uniaxial pressure (5 – 8·l07 Nm-2) and the magnetization measurements repeated. We observe a strong overall decrease of the critical current density J c by about 30 – 50% in the YBa2Cu3O x : crystal with x = 6.6 and only a small change of J c in the crystal with x = 6.9. The positions of the fishtail peak remain unchanged after detwinning in both cases. We conclude that twin planes are relatively more effective in the case of crystals with higher oxygen deficiency, while for nearly fully oxygenated crystals the pinning by point defects dominates over pinning by twin planes.

Construction of the ITER magnet systems has been started at the end of 2007 following the signature of the first procurement arrangements (PA) for the toroidal field (TF) conductors. Six ITER members are involved in the share of the ITER magnet components and, to date, eighteen PA between the ITER Organization and six domestic agencies have been signed. Substantial progress towards full-scale construction has been achieved with the placement of the first large manufacturing contracts, the production of several tens of tons of advanced Nb3Sn and NbTi strand, and the set-up of large cabling and jacketing facilities. The detailed design of the coils and support structures has also been finalized. The qualification of the fabrication processes for the TF coils and poloidal field (PF) coils has been initiated. The detailed design of the central solenoid (CS) coils is being developed. The design of the correction coils (CCs) with their support structures has been finalized, as well as for the TF gravity supports and clamps of the PF coils. The manufacture of prototypes of the feeder lines and current leads has been started, while ITER is in charge of the procurement of the required magnet instrumentation. This paper provides a progress report on the ITER magnet construction as per December 2010. (Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

The ITER central solenoid (CS) must be capable of driving inductively 30 000 15 MA plasma pulses with a burn duration of 400 s. This implies that during the lifetime of the machine, the CS, comprised of six independently powered coil modules, will have to sustain severe and repeated electromagnetic cycles to high current and field conditions. The design of the CS calls for the use of cable-in-conduit conductors made up of Nb3Sn and pure copper strands, assembled in a five-stage, rope-type cable around a central cooling spiral that is inserted into a circle-in-square jacket made up of a special grade of high manganese stainless steel. Since Nb3Sn cable-in-conduit conductors are known to exhibit electromagnetic cycling degradation, prior to the launch of production, the conductor design and potential suppliers must be qualified through the successful testing of full-size conductor samples. These tests are carried out at the SULTAN test facility. In this paper, we report the results of the on-going CS conductor performance qualification and we present the options under consideration for the different modules constituting the CS coil.

For the ITER Central Solenoid (CS), with Nb3Sn CICCs that operate under fast ramping conditions, the selection of the twist pitch lengths can have a significant impact on the performance. The critical current and temperature margin are influenced by the thermal contraction of the composite materials, the transverse electromagnetic forces, and coupling currents. The numerical cable model JackPot-ACDC is developed to calculate the interstrand coupling loss for any time-dependent current and magnet field for all strand trajectories in a CICC. It was a priori predicted that the amount of coupling loss and critical current degradation is subject to interference due to different subcable twist pitches. Here test results are discussed of the ITER CS conductor sample, manufactured according to the proposed design, optimizing the transverse load degradation, the temperature margin, and the coupling loss.

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 (