Search

The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) requires high-field magnet designs and has therefore adopted the REBCO-based high-temperature superconductor (HTS) as its current carrier. The HTS enables the toroidal field (TF) coils to be remountable, which unlocks STEP's vertical maintenance approach; however, remountable joints, approximately 18 GJ of stored energy and limited space down the centre of a spherical tokamak, make the TF coils the most challenging. STEP has pursued a passive approach to TF coil quench protection in order to limit coil terminal voltage. Initial results suggest that a solution may rely on tuning internal coil resistance coupled with actively powered heaters. The pre-conceptual inter-coil structure demonstrates acceptable stresses and deflections under steady-state operating conditions and preliminary fault scenarios, and loads are distributed to limit the tensile force on the TF centre rod. Finally, the HTS must operate reliably in a high radiation environment and endure high neutron fluences, ensuring commercially relevant magnet lifetimes. Initial experiments indicate that instantaneous gamma irradiation of HTS has no negative impact on current carrying capacity. Experimental programmes are underway to cold irradiate HTS to fusion-relevant fluences and to develop a method of assuring tape irradiation tolerance using oxygen ions as an analogue for neutrons. This article is part of the theme issue 'Delivering Fusion Energy – The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

REBCO (rare-earth barium copper oxide) coated conductor tapes are a highly attractive option for magnet materials in future tokamak fusion power plants. However, the threat of intense neutron and gamma radiation, together with AC losses during magnet coil ramping, has raised concerns around magnet coil lifetimes. Irradiation-induced changes to flux creep rate has been identified as a key performance-limiting factor in REBCO tapes at low temperatures and high fields post-irradiation with gamma rays; spontaneous flux creep contributes to hysteretic AC loss in REBCO cables under applied AC fields. Knowing that multi-filamentary tapes are under consideration for tokamaks as an AC loss mitigation, magnetic measurements and gamma irradiation experiments are presented here on striated and mono-filamentary YBCO tapes to investigate the differences in post-irradiation screening currents and AC losses. Reduction in AC losses improved magnetisation critical current density (Jc) retention after 1 MGy in the multi- relative to the mono-filamentary samples. After the 5 MGy dose, striations then made the multi-filamentary tape more susceptible to Jc degradation because of the thinner individual filament width. Scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis on an analogous GdYBCO mono-filamentary tape did not indicate the introduction of nm-scale amorphisation to the active GdYBCO layer after gamma irradiation. A potential theoretical explanation for the underlying mechanism altering the flux-pinning landscape across the REBCO layer surface in gamma-irradiated tapes is discussed. This work concluded that gamma effects on screening current capability should be considered in future tokamak REBCO tape qualification studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Hebei University of Science & Technology is the property of Hebei University of Science & Technology, Journal of Hebei University of Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To solve the problems of the AC loss in self-field for no-insulation (NI) HTS coils carrying different currents, such as AC transport current, the current scanning inverse in order to decrease the screening current, and so on, by using the T-Ahomogenization model based on the E-J power law, the effects of the transport current, frequency, and the n-value on the magnetic flux density and AC loss of NI-HTS pancack coils were simulated. The instantaneous AC losses of square wave, sawtooth wave, and sinusoidal wave for double-pancake coil were simulated quantitatively. The effects of charging and discharging ramping rates on the current distribution were also discussed by using partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC). The results show that the AC losses increase with the increase of frequency from several hundred to kilo Hz. Due to the transfer of the radial current within coil’s turns, some inverse azimuthal currents may appear in the NI-HTS coil in the early charging period, and some of the azimuthal currents may increase during short discharging period for the same reason. The simulation work can provide some theoretical references for the studies of the stability and AC loss for NI-HTS pancake coils.

Recent advances in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) have made them extremely attractive for low-temperature, high-magnetic-field-power applications such as in fusion technology, where the advantages over traditional low-temperature superconductors (LTS) allow for the design of fusion reactors operating in different and more convenient regimes. However, the performance enhancement exhibited by novel conductors poses several challenges for the measurement of their superconducting properties. The high critical currents coupled with the relatively low thermal stability of the conductors and their mechanical fragility render this task a challenge, as the angular anisotropies complicate the experimental setup. In this work, we describe the development of our novel high-current measurement facility, focusing on the solutions introduced regarding critical aspects such as the superconducting leads and the sample holder design. We show how simple but effectively designed solutions can be adopted to combat the complexity of the measurement. The results reported in this work guide the development of a measurement system able to withstand high critical currents (I > 1500 A) at high magnetic fields (µ0H > 12 T) by evaluating the angular response of 4 mm wide short samples (L ~ 7.5 cm) in a robust and reproducible manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-temperature superconducting REBa{2} Cu{3}O{7-x} (rebco) conductors have the potential to generate a high magnetic field over a broad temperature range. The corresponding accelerator magnet technology, still in its infancy, can be attractive for future energy-frontier particle colliders such as a multi-TeV muon collider. To help develop the technology, we explore the requirements and potential characteristics of a rebco magnet, operating at 4.2 or 20 K, with a dipole field of 8-10 T in a clear aperture of 150 mm. We use the canted \cos \theta magnet configuration to reduce the electromagnetic stresses on the conductors. We present the resulting dipole fields, field gradients for combined-function cases, conductor stresses, magnet dimensions and conductor lengths. We also discuss the conductor performance that is required to achieve the target dipole field at 4.2 and 20 K. The information can provide useful input to the development of rebco magnet and conductor technology for collider-ring magnets in a muon collider.

A dipole magnet generating 20 T and beyond will require high-temperature superconductors such as Bi2Sr2CaCu2O 8 − x and REBa2Cu3O 7 − x (RE = rare earth, rebco). Symmetric tape round (star®) wires based on rebco tapes are emerging as a potential conductor for such a magnet, demonstrating a whole-conductor current density of 580 A mm−2 at 20 T, 4.2 K, and at a bend radius of 15 mm. There are, however, few magnet developments using star® wires. Here we report a subscale canted cos θ dipole magnet as an initial experiment for two purposes: to evaluate the conductor performance in a magnet configuration and to start developing the magnet technology, leveraging the small bend radius afforded by star® wires. The magnet was wound with two star® wires, electrically in parallel and without transposition. We tested the magnet at 77 and 4.2 K. The magnet reached a peak current of 8.9 kA, 78% of the short-sample prediction at 4.2 K, and a whole-conductor current density of 1500 A mm−2. The experiment demonstrated a minimum viable concept for dipole magnet applications using star® wires. The results also allowed us to identify further development needs for star® conductors and associated magnet technology to enable high-field rebco magnets.

Optimisation of REBCO coated conductor tapes specifically for use in nuclear fusion will help improve the magnet component lifetimes in future tokamak reactor power plants. The focus of this work was exploration of a novel approach to irradiation studies on REBCO tapes, utilising multiple magnetic measurements to probe evolution of the REBCO flux-pinning landscape more deeply than reported in other studies, for the purpose of identifying primary limiting factors affecting performance. Gamma irradiation experiments were conducted, and pre-/post-irradiation results from DC and AC magnetic measurements using a Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) are discussed. Magnetisation critical current density (Jc) decreased in all samples with increasing dose, except for the silver overlayer-only samples which did not contain artificial pinning centres (APCs), where Jc increased with dose. Removal of the copper stabiliser coupled with the presence of APCs allowed gamma irradiation to induce pinning force maximum peak shifts, from above 14 T before irradiation to below 9 T afterwards. Flux creep rate varied with the evolving pinning landscape, and the degree of Jc degradation directly correlated with creep rate fluctuations post-irradiation. Changes in critical temperature and diamagnetic saturation also corresponded with changes in Jc and flux creep rate. The major conclusion from this study was that minimisation of flux creep rate is the key to maintenance of performance under fusion-relevant operating conditions. Flux creep manifests as problematic AC losses in all high-temperature superconducting machines; therefore, future work will focus on reduction/prevention of the phenomenon to enhance longevity of performance in any application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) have made them extremely attractive for low-temperature, high-magnetic-field-power applications such as in fusion technology, where the advantages over traditional low-temperature superconductors (LTS) allow for the design of fusion reactors operating in different and more convenient regimes. However, the performance enhancement exhibited by novel conductors poses several challenges for the measurement of their superconducting properties. The high critical currents coupled with the relatively low thermal stability of the conductors and their mechanical fragility render this task a challenge, as the angular anisotropies complicate the experimental setup. In this work, we describe the development of our novel high-current measurement facility, focusing on the solutions introduced regarding critical aspects such as the superconducting leads and the sample holder design. We show how simple but effectively designed solutions can be adopted to combat the complexity of the measurement. The results reported in this work guide the development of a measurement system able to withstand high critical currents (I > 1500 A) at high magnetic fields (µ0H > 12 T) by evaluating the angular response of 4 mm wide short samples (L ~ 7.5 cm) in a robust and reproducible manner.

Although the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) REBa2Cu3O x (REBCO, RE-rare earth elements) material has a strong potential to enable dipole magnetic fields above 20 T in future circular particle colliders, the magnet and conductor technology needs to be developed. As part of an ongoing development to address this need, here we report on our CORC® canted cosθ magnet called C2 with a target dipole field of 3 T in a 65 mm aperture. The magnet was wound with 70 m of 3.8 mm diameter CORC® wire on machined metal mandrels. The wire had 30 commercial REBCO tapes from SuperPower Inc. each 2 mm wide with a 30 µm thick substrate. The magnet generated a peak dipole field of 2.91 T at 6.290 kA, 4.2 K. The magnet could be consistently driven into the flux-flow regime with reproducible voltage rise at an engineering current density between 400-550 A mm-2, allowing reliable quench detection and magnet protection. The C2 magnet represents another successful step towards the development of high-field accelerator magnet and CORC® conductor technologies. The test results highlighted two development needs: continue improving the performance and flexibility of CORC® wires and develop the capability to identify locations of first onset of flux-flow voltage.

Ring-shaped REBa2Cu3O y melt-textured bulks have been successfully grown by the single-direction melt growth (SDMG) method. Three homogeneous DyBa2Cu3O y ring-bulks were directly grown in this study, which exhibited concentrically cone-shaped trapped field distribution on the surface and a high trapped field of 1.84 T at 77 K inside the ring, the highest ever value among reported ring-shaped bulks to date. Furthermore, superconducting properties such as superconducting transitions and critical current densities are highly uniform throughout the bulk, confirming the effectiveness of the SDMG approach. Our findings represent a significant advancement in the fabrication of high-quality bulks suitable for various magnetic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-temperature superconductors (HTS) are promising candidates for use in the high-field magnets needed in particle accelerators and fusion reactors. HTS conductor on round core (CORC®) cables and wires wound from ReBa2Cu3O7- x (REBCO) coated tapes are being developed for use in high-field magnet applications including fusion magnets operating at currents beyond 80 kA, requiring them to be bundled into cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) configurations. The use of HTS cables enable demountable superconducting fusion magnets that would allow easier access to the fusion machine for maintenance and parts replacement. Such demountable magnets require practical, low-resistance joints, capable of injecting current uniformly into the many REBCO tapes that make up different cable designs. Optimization steps on CORC® cables have resulted in high-current terminations and joints with a joint resistance measured between a pair of 30-tape CORC® cables of 51 nΩ at 76 K and 1.9 nΩ at 4 K. Demountable joints between CICCs consisting of six CORC® cables arranged in flat and round configurations were also tested and compared to joints between low-temperature superconducting (LTS) CICCs consisting of NbTi Rutherford cables. Samples were paired into two configurations (LTS-to-LTS and HTS-to-HTS) with a demountable joint between them that were each tested in series with currents up to 10 000 A in an applied background magnetic field of up to 8 T. The total loop resistance of the HTS-to-HTS sample, including their terminations and joint, was about 4 nΩ at 4 K in self-field with the resistance of the copper pressed joint being less than 1 nΩ. At 8 T, the total loop resistance increased to 6.9 nΩ with the pressed joint contributing 1.4 nΩ. These initial tests prove the feasibility of producing remountable (dry) joints with low resistance between superconducting magnet windings in future compact fusion machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact gantry delivering 70-220 MeV protons with fixed field in the superconducting magnets could reduce the cost and improve the adoption of proton therapy. While a number of magnet and cryogenics designs have been proposed, the combined capital and operating costs of state-of-the-art superconducting materials have not been analyzed. In response, we develop a thermoeconomic model of a multi-stage, conduction cooled gantry lattice and analyze the cryocooler operating cost, cryocooler capital cost and conductor capital cost for Nb-Ti, Nb3Sn, REBCO and Bi-2223 over a continuous range of magnet temperatures, and a differential evolution algorithm is used to identify the optimal combination of thermal intercept temperatures. Although Nb3Sn yields the lowest Net Present Value (NPV) of $111.7k at a magnet temperature of 9.4 K, the optimized Bi-2223 design at 12.8 K approaches the realm of commercial feasibility by offering improved thermal stability and forgoing the need for costly conductor heat treatment and magnet quench training. Furthermore, it was found that Nb3Sn was more cost effective than Nb-Ti and that REBCO was not economically viable for the parameters of this investigation. The thermoeconomic model developed herein can optimize conductor choices, magnet temperatures and thermal staging which has value for any conduction-cooled superconducting magnet.

ReBCO superconducting cables have the potential to enable compact thermonuclear fusion reactors that operate at magnetic fields exceeding 20 T and allow operation at temperatures far exceeding the boiling point of liquid helium, potentially allowing for demountable magnets. Normal zone detection remains a challenge, and while novel quench detection techniques are an active area of research, few are non-invasive, provide real-time quench detection, and have been demonstrated with current ramp rates relevant for fusion reactors. To address this problem, a CORC® cable termination is developed with integrated Hall sensors to monitor current redistribution as a proxy for quench detection. The methodology exploits the current sharing and layered topology in CORC® cables, and allows quench detection using a localized sensor instead of co-wound voltage wires or optical fibers. Experiments are presented where current redistribution is measured from induced quenches, and in a 0.2 meter CORC® sample it is found that the Hall sensors detect normal zone transitions with a similar magnitude and temporal resolution as voltage measurements. To emulate the conditions of dynamic poloidal and central solenoidal fields, experiments are repeated with ramp rates up to 10 kA s-1 that demonstrate the potential to detect normal zone development over a range of experimental parameters.

REBCO coated conductor has demonstrated high current capacity that can enable high-field magnets for high energy physics and fusion applications. However, quench protection is still one of the main challenges to be addressed for these applications. In addition, Ic and n value variations along the length of REBCO tapes exist in commercial production. The inter-tape contact resistance plays a key role to develop the self protection capability in cables and magnets by enabling current sharing and suppressing excessive eddy currents. Here we propose an electric-circuit model to describe the inter-tape contact resistance and its impact on the current sharing between REBCO tapes. We report the experiments on a 2-stacked tape REBCO cable with local Ic drop to validate the model. With the developed model, we study the upper limit of the contact resistance which allows current sharing between tapes. We also study the impact of variation in Ic and n values in tapes on the cable performance. Our model is expected to provide useful insight into the current sharing and target values for inter-tape contact resistance in REBCO cables and magnets for various applications.

REBCO coated conductor has demonstrated high current capacity that can enable high-field magnets for high energy physics and fusion applications. However, quench protection is still one of the main challenges to be addressed for these applications. In addition, Ic and n value variations along the length of REBCO tapes exist in commercial production. The inter-tape contact resistance plays a key role to develop the self protection capability in cables and magnets by enabling current sharing and suppressing excessive eddy currents. Here we propose an electric-circuit model to describe the inter-tape contact resistance and its impact on the current sharing between REBCO tapes. We report the experiments on a 2-stacked tape REBCO cable with local Ic drop to validate the model. With the developed model, we study the upper limit of the contact resistance which allows current sharing between tapes. We also study the impact of variation in Ic and n values in tapes on the cable performance. Our model is expected to provide useful insight into the current sharing and target values for inter-tape contact resistance in REBCO cables and magnets for various applications.

REBa2Cu3Ox (REBCO, RE = rare earth elements) coated conductors can carry high current in high background fields, in principle enabling dipole magnetic fields beyond 20 T. Although model accelerator magnets wound with single REBCO tapes have been successfully demonstrated, magnet technology based on high-current REBCO cables for high-field accelerator magnet applications has yet to be established. We developed a two-layer canted cosθ dipole magnet with an aperture of 70 mm using 30 m long commercial Conductor on Round Core (CORC®) wires. The 3.1 mm diameter CORC® wire contained 16 commercial REBCO tapes with a 30 μm thick substrate. The magnet was tested at 77 and 4.2 K. It generated a peak dipole field of 1.2 T with 4.8 kA at 4.2 K with neither thermal runaway nor training. Reasonable geometric field quality and strong magnetization-current effects with multipole decay were observed. Our work demonstrated a feasible high-temperature superconducting magnet technology as a first step toward a new accelerator magnet paradigm that will enable high-field inserts for next-generation circular colliders and stand-alone magnets that can operate over a wide temperature range for a broad range of applications.

Particle accelerators with superconducting magnets operating at cryogenic temperatures use a beam screen (BS) liner that extracts heat generated by the circulating bunched charge particle beam before it can reach the magnets. The BS surface, commonly made of high–conductivity copper, provides a low impedance for beam stability reasons, low secondary electron yield (SEY) to mitigate the electron–cloud (EC) effect, and low electron–stimulated desorption yield (ESD) to limit the dynamic pressure rise due to EC. Rare–earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) high–temperature superconductors (HTSs) recently reached technical maturity, are produced as coated conductor tapes (REBCO–CCs), and will be considered for application in future colliders to decrease the BS impedance and enable operation at around 50 K, consequently relaxing the cryogenic requirements. Aside from HTS properties, industry–grade REBCO–CCs also need qualification for EC and dynamic vacuum compatibility under accelerator–like conditions. Hence, we report the SEY and ESD measured at cryogenic temperatures of 12 K under low–energy electron irradiation of 0–1.4 keV. We also verify the sample compositions and morphologies using the XPS, SEM, and EDS methods. The energy and dose dependencies of ESD are comparable to those of technical–grade metals and one sample reached SEY M A X = 1.2 after electron conditioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Verified feasibility of copper tube compaction on HFRC cables. • Developed key technique to enhance mechanical support of round core cables. • Confirmed effectiveness of the new compaction process through experiments. • Achieved improved mechanical support strength in HFRC cables. • Provided guidance for preparing superconducting conductors in fusion devices. The Institute of Plasma Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) is developing the high-current REBCO cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) for use in the Central Solenoid (CS) coil of the next generation nuclear fusion device. The aim is to develop a CICC comprising six REBCO sub-cables to satisfy the requirements of operation with a current of around 46 kA and a peak field of up to 20 T. Sub-cables, as crucial components within CICCs, play a pivotal role in ensuring the mechanical support strength and current-carrying stability of the entire CS coil system. Therefore, a process was developed in this paper for the first time to make a sub-cable that meets the requirements by inserting the Highly Flexible REBCO Cable (HFRC) cable into a copper tube and compacting it. Meanwhile, the feasibility and reliability of this process were evaluated and optimized using experimental methods at 77 K and self-field. The result indicated that sub-cables without copper tape protection experienced a 25.42% degradation in critical current (I C). In contrast, when at least one protective layer of copper tape was used as a protective buffer between the HFRC cable and the inner wall of the copper tube, the I C remained stable within a 1% error margin after compaction. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of this sub-cable preparation process. Meanwhile, this compaction method provides a solid process foundation for the development of full-size conductors in future magnet applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

REBCO coated conductors maintain a high engineering current density above 16 T at 4.2 K. That fact will significantly impact markets of various magnet applications including high-field magnets for high-energy physics and fusion reactors. One of the main challenges for the high-field accelerator magnet is the use of multi-tape REBCO cables with high engineering current density in magnet development. Several approaches developing high-field accelerator magnets using REBCO cables are demonstrated. In this paper, we introduce an alternative concept based on the canted cos θ (CCT) magnet design using conductor on round core (CORC®) wires that are wound from multiple REBCO tapes with a Cu core. We report the development and test of double-layer three-turn CCT dipole magnets using CORC® wires at 77 and 4.2 K. The scalability of the CCT design allowed us to effectively develop and demonstrate important magnet technology features such as coil design, winding, joints and testing with minimum conductor lengths. The test results showed that the CCT dipole magnet using CORC® wires was a viable option in developing a REBCO accelerator magnet. One of the critical development needs is to increase the engineering current density of the 3.7 mm diameter CORC® wire to 540 A mm-2 at 21 T, 4.2 K and to reduce the bending radius to 15 mm. This would enable a compact REBCO dipole insert magnet to generate a 5 T field in a background field of 16 T at 4.2 K.

Superconducting stacks can be used as strong permanent magnets in several applications. One of their uses is to build light and compact superconducting motors for aviation, where these magnets can be used in the rotor, but they can demagnetize quickly in the presence of cross fields. In this article, we propose a new configuration of soldered stacks face-to-face, which can be constructed by relatively simple joining techniques. Based on numerical modeling of the cross-field demagnetization of stacks of two and 16 tapes, we show that such a sample can withstand around twice as high ripple field amplitudes than isolated stacks. This is due to the increase in the parallel penetration field by around a factor 2. For cross-field amplitudes below this value, a soldered stack can retain higher permanent magnetization than isolated stacks. This method of reducing cross-field demagnetization does not decrease the power or torque rating of a motor, compared to other strategies like the increase in the gap between rotor and stator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances on no-insulation REBCO coil technology has made understanding and controlling contact resistivity increasingly important. Praffin (wax) impregnation is a process that has been used for improving mechanical stability of insulated and no-insulation REBCO coils. Wax impregnation is beneficial in both no-insulation coils and insulated coils with additional copper stabilizer or multiple conductors. In the latter scenario, contact resistance between conductor and additional stabilizer is also important. It is crucial to understand the effects of wax impregnation on contact resistivity (Rct). We designed and built an apparatus to use short REBCO samples which simulates the behavior of Rct in a pancake coil during the wax impregnation process. Rct was measured at 77 K before and after the wax impregnation. In addition, a single pancake coil was wound to test the effect of wax impregnation. This coil simulates the NHMFL 32 T magnet Coil A in winding stresses. Rct was measured at 77 and 4.2 K before and after wax impregnation. We found that wax impregnation does not significantly change contact resistivity. This means that wax impregnation can be used in coils without compromising the current sharing ability between turns. The experimental process and results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARC (Affordable Robust Compact) reactor is a tokamak design developed with a specific goal: to investigate on the best technologies industrially available nowadays to build a commercial fusion reactor in the nearest future. The design foresees the adoption of the innovative High Temperature Superconductors (HTS), that allow a significant size reduction: among the superconductors the REBCO (Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxides) tapes have been adopted in the design of the ARC toroidal field coils. They have been object of a specific study concerning their behavior under neutron irradiated environment, to assess their radiation damage. These results have been useful to perform a comparison of REBCO superconductors activation with radiation background, in order to understand how their level of radioactivity can be harmful with respect to natural radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RRR of Cu stabilizer of REBCO samples were tested for large REBCO magnet projects. • Low RRR is correlated with small grain size. • Chlorine impurity hinders grain growth during self-annealing resulting in low RRR. Residual-resistance-ratio (RRR) of Cu stabilizer in REBCO coated conductor is an important design parameter for REBCO magnets. Cu stabilizer with high RRR is especially beneficial for quench protections of REBCO magnets. In this work, we study RRR of electroplated Cu stabilizer in commercial REBCO tapes. We present RRR of over 180 samples measured for the quality assurance programs of REBCO magnet projects at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, USA (NHMFL). To investigate the factors that influence RRR, several samples were analyzed extensively by using scanning electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. We found that RRR is strongly correlated with the grain size of Cu, which suggests that resistivity at low temperatures is dominated by grain boundary resistivity. In addition, low RRR corresponds to high concentration of chlorine impurity. This is explained by that higher chlorine impurity hindered the grain growth in the self-annealing process at room temperature which resulted in smaller grain size and low RRR. Annealing at 300C significantly enlarged the grain size and enhanced RRR. Due to the concern of critical current degradation, however, annealing is not recommended as a practical method to improve RRR of Cu in REBCO tapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting windings will be necessary in future fusion reactors to generate the strong magnetic fields needed to confine the plasma, and these superconducting materials will inevitably be exposed to neutron damage. It is known that this exposure results in the creation of isolated damage cascades, but the presence of these defects alone is not sufficient to explain the degradation of macroscopic superconducting properties and a quantitative method is needed to assess the subtle lattice damage in between the clusters. We have studied REBCO‐coated conductors irradiated with neutrons to a cumulative dose of 3.3 × 1022 n/m2 that show a degradation of both Tc and Jc values, and use HRTEM analysis to show that this irradiation introduces ∼10 nm amorphous collision cascades. In addition, we introduce a new method for the analysis of these images to quantify the degree of lattice disorder in the apparently perfect matrix between these cascades. This method utilises Fast Fourier and Discrete Cosine Transformations of a statistically relevant number of HRTEM images of pristine, neutron‐irradiated and amorphous samples and extracts the degree of randomness in terms of entropy values. Our results show that these entropy values in both mid‐frequency band FFT and DCT domains correlate with the expected level of lattice damage, with the pristine samples having the lowest and the fully amorphous regions the highest entropy values. Our methodology allows us to quantify 'invisible' lattice damage to and correlate these values to the degradation of superconducting properties, and also has relevance for a wider range of applications in the field of electron microscopy where small changes in lattice perfection need to be measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion irradiation of REBCO films and coated conductors, in which the ions pass completely through the REBCO film, produces damage tracks which form near-ideal flux-pinning defects. The radius and aspect ratio of the tracks depends on the mass and energy of the incident ions. We have investigated the effect of Ag ion irradiation, at different incident energies and incidence angles, on REBCO production-quality coated conductors from American Superconductor Corp. Transmission electron microscopy and in-field transport critical current anisotropy analysis indicates that the ion-energy threshold for the formation of elongated tracks is around 50 MeV. At this energy tracks are not readily identifiable in low-resolution TEM, and enhancement of critical current is nearly isotropic. For a higher ion energy of 100 MeV, on the other hand, clear elongated (but still not fully continuous) tracks are visible in TEM, and the critical current is anisotropic with strong enhancement occurring when the applied field is parallel to the ion incidence angle. We particularly analyze the case of 60° inclined irradiation. This produces a clear peak in the field-angle dependence of critical current for 100 MeV irradiation, but only an incipient peak for 50 MeV irradiation. The incipient peak can be identified by curve fitting using a minimal number of maximum-entropy functional components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed and routinely used a reel-to-reel (R2R) scanning Hall-probe microscopy (SHPM) system to characterize REBCO conductors developed at the University of Houston. By mapping the screening-current-induced field of a magnetized REBCO conductor, the SHPM system enables 2-dimensional imaging of critical current density (Jc) distribution in a contact-free, non-destructive approach. Most existing SHPM systems investigate the magnetized REBCO conductors at remnant state without external background field. However, because of the inhomogeneity in the distribution of nanoscale artificial pinning centers in advanced REBCO conductors, there is a demand for reel-to-reel in-field examination over long conductor lengths. We have been developing a new R2R SHPM, capable of measuring the Jc profile of long REBCO conductors at the temperature of 63.5–77 K and in an applied field up to 5 T. With optimal data acquisition and processing techniques, we overcame the challenge of measuring weak screening-current-field signals in a strong background field. R2R Jc mapping has been performed on long REBCO conductors with a spatial resolution as low as 0.15 mm2 and a longitudinal scanning speed comparable with our existing system. Our previous study revealed a good correlation between the REBCO conductors’ 65-K in-field Jc and their Jc over a wide span of temperatures and fields. Using this correlation, the in-field R2R SHPM will serve not only as a means of quality control, but also provide insight into high-field performance of advanced REBCO conductors at low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution, the usage of a pyramid-like buffer stack for optimization of the top-seeded melt growth process of GdBCO (GdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ) single-domain superconductors is demonstrated. The process was optimized by the addition of SmBCO into GdBCO/Ag into the buffer precursor powder, which effectively increased the peritectic temperature of the final mixed powder in the pyramid-like buffer stack. As such, this approach can be also used for other REBCO systems by selecting rare earth with a higher peritectic temperature and adding it to the buffer pellets. The thermal behavior of the powders was studied by STA. This enables fast and effective crystal growth through the buffer stack and the formation of large effective seeds. This approach also allows for reliable and precise tuning of growth angle and together with effective seed size facilitates tuning of a - b to c sector ratio. The phase composition of precursors and prepared bulks were studied by XRD. The microstructure was also studied by SEM and OM in detail. Subsequently, levitation force and trapped field were measured. Results confirmed that the addition of at least a single buffer pellet improved the melt growth process significantly by acting as a large effective seed. Superconducting properties of the samples grown by pyramid-like buffer stack are superior in comparison to reference TSMG samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle accelerators with superconducting magnets operating at cryogenic temperatures use a beam screen (BS) liner that extracts heat generated by the circulating bunched charge particle beam before it can reach the magnets. The BS surface, commonly made of high–conductivity copper, provides a low impedance for beam stability reasons, low secondary electron yield (SEY) to mitigate the electron–cloud (EC) effect, and low electron–stimulated desorption yield (ESD) to limit the dynamic pressure rise due to EC. Rare–earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) high–temperature superconductors (HTSs) recently reached technical maturity, are produced as coated conductor tapes (REBCO–CCs), and will be considered for application in future colliders to decrease the BS impedance and enable operation at around 50 K, consequently relaxing the cryogenic requirements. Aside from HTS properties, industry–grade REBCO–CCs also need qualification for EC and dynamic vacuum compatibility under accelerator–like conditions. Hence, we report the SEY and ESD measured at cryogenic temperatures of 12 K under low–energy electron irradiation of 0–1.4 keV. We also verify the sample compositions and morphologies using the XPS, SEM, and EDS methods. The energy and dose dependencies of ESD are comparable to those of technical–grade metals and one sample reached SEYMAX = 1.2 after electron conditioning.

Future all-electric aircraft will employ highly efficient compact and lightweight machines for power generation and propulsion applications. Previous studies have indicated that the most attractive options include synchronous machines employing superconducting excitation and stator windings for achieving high power density and efficiency. The dc excitation winding could be constructed using a variety of superconductors, but the choice for ac stator windings is limited. High conductivity aluminum conductor at cryogenic temperature is a possible option but it is expected to be heavier than a superconducting winding and will require more extensive cooling as the losses within the winding pack will be much larger. A conductor-on-round-core (CORC) cable using REBCO tapes looks like an attractive option as it enables compound bending for constructing saddle coils. Here, we investigate using this cable for the stator winding of a 3 MW, 4500 RPM, 4-pole propulsion motor and compare with an identical motor employing an MgB2 stator winding. The motor configuration assumes saddle-shaped coils for the stator winding. Each saddle coil constitutes a double pancake. A round conductor capable of bending in three-dimensional is preferred for such coils, making the round CORC cable ideal for this application. The cable employs striated REBCO with striation width as small as 1/3 mm. The ac field in the stator winding region is about 0.7 T at 150 Hz and the cable is operated at 50% of its critical current for limiting ac losses and for providing a safety margin. Individual tapes in the CORC cable experience field perpendicular to its broad face resulting in high ac losses. Comparing the performance of motors employing CORC and MgB2 cables for the stator, we find that the ac losses in the CORC stator are much larger than the MgB2 stator. High losses in the CORC stator winding make this option less attractive unless coolant power is freely available, such as in LH2-fueled planes. However, this machine with CORC coils is the most compact and lightweight option. Such compact light mass motors could be attractive for LH2 fueled applications, such as interstate trucks, heavy machinery, locomotive hauling goods trains, ships (especially for podded propellers), etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on strain and composition effects associated with growth of self-assembled BaZrO3 (BZO) nanorods in REBa2Cu3O7âˆ' δ (REBCO) superconductors (RE = rare earth = Y and Gd), which have a profound effect on flux pinning and in-field critical current performance. The a-b plane mismatch between BZO and REBCO is never fully coherently accommodated. Instead, the nanorods always assume a size at least one unit cell smaller than the corresponding ‘hole’ in the REBCO matrix, thus providing deep minima of in-plane mismatch strain. Next, we show that the nominal BZO nanorods are in fact solid solution Ba2+(Zr4+1âˆ' z RE3+z)O3âˆ' δ perovskite, thus strongly affecting the stoichiometry and relative amounts of REBCO and BZO. We demonstrate that by varying only the Ba content in the nominal composition of 15 mol.% BZO + REBCO, the unit cell density of BZO can be tuned from 5% to 23%, and the linear density of RE2O3 (REO) precipitates from 18 to 1 ÎĽ mâˆ'1. The results explain the wide range of pinning performances observed for the same nominal amount of Zr addition and provide insight into the mechanisms behind the complex phenomenon of growth of nanorods by self-assembly in REBCO superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practical superconducting materials and technologies have been enabled with availability for large scale devices and applications. Various large scale and strong magnetic field applications of superconductors have been developed, and a series of those applications are explored with technical details mainly including i) applied superconducting materials and their characteristics; ii) superconducting magnets and their techniques; iii) large and advanced electromagnetic devices and applications. The applied superconductivity, application technology, and availability are especially focused and verified with the trend of large scale applications’ development prospection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we proposed a variable protective resistor that realizes controllable energy dissipation and temperature inhibition for the no-insulation (NI) HTS coil-systems, during sudden discharging. The resistor is paralleled with the meter-class bore NI coil, which aims to be used in a high-field magnetic resonance imaging scanner (MRI), to avoid burn-out and shorten restart time of the coil when it has to be shut-down during an accident. To establish the relationship between the value of protective resistor, the energy dissipation and the temperature increase during sudden discharging for the NI coil, in this study, a numerical analysis coupled with a partial element equivalent circuit and a thermal analysis was conducted. Based on the results, the mechanism that how a protective resistor shares energy dissipation and inhibits temperature increase, has been clarified. Meanwhile, the effects of the value of protective resistor on the discharging behavior and temperature increase of NI pancake coil during sudden discharging, were also evaluated to verify the feasibility of this protection method in the application of MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This infiltration technique enables fast and agile manufacturing of high-density REBCO sputtering targets. • Thin-films prepared from the infiltration target have superior microstructure in comparison with a reference target In this contribution, we demonstrate a new approach to the preparation of targets based on YBCO high-temperature superconductors, which are being used on large scale for thin-film superconductors deposition. The targets were manufactured by a new infiltration technique in a period of time less than 48 h. The phase composition of the final sample was analyzed by XRD, Rietveld refinement was used for the quantitative analysis. The microstructure of the final sample and the reference sample prepared by conventional target sintering was studied by SEM. The prepared target was also used for thin-film YBCO tape preparation by IJD in order to confirm the suitability of the novel technique. The prepared thin-layer was analyzed via XRD, SEM, EDS and optical microscopy. In addition, isothermal (T = 1250 K and T = 1325 K) isoactivity (p O2 / p ° = 0.21) sections of the Y-Ba-Cu-O phase diagram were calculated by FactSage program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The joint-free superconducting annular disks and their stacks, obtained by cutting REBCO (REBa2Cu3O7–δ, RE: rare earth) wide tapes, are proposed as promising passive magnetic shields in this paper. The shielding properties of the disks have been numerically studied using the finite element method. The shielding factor (SF), defined as the ratio between the applied field and the central field, had a frequency-independent value when the magnetic field is much lower than the full penetration field. It appears to have a linear relationship with the ratio of the outer and inner diameter of the disk. Furthermore, various architectures with stacked disks were studied. High shielding factors (SF > 104) under enhanced full penetration fields of above 100 mT can be obtained in the configuration of more disks and proper disk distance (the distance between the disks on each layer). Two stacked disks were designed. In a 1-mT, 1-Hz applied field, the SF of the 4-mm inner diameter discrete stack is 1.21 × 107 (140 dB), and the SF of the 20-mm inner diameter split stack reaches 3.44 × 104 (90 dB). It implies that the stacked REBCO disks have great potential for the application of high-efficiency magnetic shielding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porosity affects the properties of high- T c superconductors and can improve their performance by enhancing oxygenation, cryocooling, etc. Among other factors, the presence of pores plays a significant role in the process of magnetic flux trapping. Relationships with the porosity manifest in the irreversibility field, the full penetration field, and the remnant magnetization of the samples. To account for the effect of porosity on the trapped magnetic flux into type-II superconductors, a simple toy model is suggested. Generally, as the porosity increases, the trapped flux and related parameters tend to diminish. However, in the case of microscopic samples, porosity can enhance magnetic flux trapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No-insulation (NI) winding techniques are widely used in fabricating thermally, mechanically, and electrically robust REBCO magnets. However, NI coils have disadvantages during charging operation, such as charging delay and heat loss due to leakage current. Leakage current can be reduced by increasing contact resistance. Metal-insulation (MI) winding methods are also used by co-winding high-resistive metal insulators between the winding turns of REBCO wires. Although the contact resistance of MI coils can be substantially increased, quantitative estimation of the magnet contact resistance is difficult owing to the dry-contact between the winding turns. Moreover, special care is needed during epoxy impregnation of MI or NI magnets owing to delamination problems induced by the epoxy layer between the winding turns. In this study, a soldered metal insulation (SMI) method is proposed to remove the drawbacks of the MI coil, such as the hardly predictable contact resistance and the delamination issue during conduction cooling applications. The SMI coils were wound using a tin-plated stainless-steel (SS) tape between the REBCO wires as in the MI coil and they were heated in a furnace to produce soldered contacts between winding turns. To investigate the electric characteristics, sudden discharge and charge/discharge experiments were conducted at 77 K. In this paper, the test coils were fabricated using the NI, MI, and SMI winding methods and the contact resistance of each coil was investigated. The results show that the SMI winding method can be used to create expected or controllable contact resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good knowledge of material properties is a critical aspect for modeling high-temperature superconductor (HTS) devices. However, the knowledge of the electrical resistivity of coated conductors above the critical current is limited. The major challenge in characterizing this regime lies in the fact that for I > Ic, heating effects and thermal instabilities can quickly destroy the conductor if nothing is done to protect it. In previous work we extracted overcritical current data, obtained by combining fast pulsed current measurements with finite element analysis (Uniform Current (UC) model). In this work, we assessed the impact of the uncertainties of the input parameters on the quantities calculated with the UC model (temperature, current in each layer of the tape and resistivity of HTS). Firstly, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were performed and it was found that the input parameters that mostly affect the accuracy of the UC model are the electrical resistivity and the thickness of the silver layer. Afterwards, an optimization method was developed to correctly estimate the geometry and the resistivity of the silver layer. This method combines experimental measurements of resistance R(T) of the tape and pulsed current measurements. The development of this strategy allowed us to determine the parameters that significantly impact the results of the UC model and helped to minimize their uncertainties. This enables a more accurate estimation of the resistivity in the overcritical current regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An acoustic quench detection method utilizing MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) acoustic sensors is proposed. To investigate this method, a commercially available MEMS piezoelectric microphone, the Vesper VM1000, and two types of second stage amplifiers, using either an OPA344 or a LMH6629 based amplifier circuit, were characterized at cryogenic temperatures in helium gas. The MEMS microphones were in their original package with an integrated preamplifier. The tests were performed inside a two-stage Gifford-McMahon cryocooler from room temperature down to 60 K, at static pressures between 1.2 and 1.4 bar in gaseous helium, over the frequency band from 100 Hz to 10 kHz. Second stage amplifiers were needed to achieve signal to noise ratios approaching the manufacturer specified operating levels. The OPA344 based amplifier reduced in gain by >55 dB below 230 K, while the LMH6629 based amplifier performed well down to 60 K. The MEMS microphones appear to perform acoustic measurements down to 165 K but with some reduction in sensitivity down to 60 K. An acoustic model of the cryocooler plane wave tube calibration setup is developed and used to calibrate the microphone despite the presence of a significant thermal gradients down the plane wave tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperature superconductors (HTS) are discussed as energy-efficient solutions for industrial high-current applications beyond 10 kA e.g., bus bar systems in industrial electrolysis plants. In this contribution, the experimental test of a 3.6-meter-long 35 kA DC demonstrator, made from twelve high-current HTS CrossConductor (HTS CroCo) strands in an liquid nitrogen bath at T = 77 K is presented. In this work, a common connector concept of the twelve HTS CroCo strands is proposed. Compared to earlier results without common connector, lead resistances were effectively reduced and current distribution among the individual strands was significantly facilitated. This is confirmed by the observation of increased critical cable current of 37.6 kA compared to 33 kA in previous work without low-resistive common connector. Additionally, the current range, in which all twelve strands reached their critical electric field, was found to be reduced from >7 kA to 2 kA. Results are discussed and assessed with the help of an electric circuit model, from which the solder resistances at the connections could be obtained by fitting. Particular focus was given to the investigation of current redistribution in the demonstrator. Therefore, a heater was installed on one HTS CroCo strand, and activated to raise the temperature on this strand and quench a single strand locally. It is observed that current is redistributed through the common connectors to the other strands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upgrade project of the 25T-CSM to 30 T is on-going at HFLSM, IMR, Tohoku University. The goal is to obtain 30 T in a 32 mm warm bore by replacing the present Bi2223 insert coil with one wound using REBCO. In order to develop a robust REBCO high field insert, we adopt a two-tape bundle conductor with a face-to-back configuration. We confirmed that this conductor configuration mitigates effectively the risk posed by local defects in an R&D coil: a stable operation was achieved with negligible degradation in coil Ic even with a severe local defect on one of the two tapes. Quench protection from possible hotspot in the REBCO insert using an early detection method is made possible by the two-tape bundle configuration and the thick Cu stabilizer. Other R&D coils using such conductor were tested with large hoop stresses up to 460 MPa with no degradation. On the basis of these R&D studies, a robust REBCO insert is designed for the upgrade. The designed REBCO insert has a capability to achieve 35 T with enough Ic margin if we accept a maximum hoop stress of 500 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting single-domain YBCO and GdBCO/Ag bulks were tested for space and nuclear applications by an exposition to increasing doses of gamma and neutron radiation in the LVR-15 research reactor. Maximum doses were 3.85E+04 Gy from neutron and 7.00E+05 Gy from gamma radiation, which is much larger dose then can be received in any spacecraft during the standard space mission. Levitation force and trapped field of the irradiated samples as well as non-irradiated samples were measured after each irradiation step. The appearance and phase composition of the surface and interior of all samples were examined by XRD and SEM after the final irradiation. The surface of the ceramics was damaged in respect of visual (SEM) appearance and the phase composition (XRD). Nevertheless, the interior is similar to the standard non-irradiated samples. More importantly, the trapped field and the levitation force remained also comparable for irradiated and non-irradiated samples even after the highest dosage experiment. From the results it is apparent, that the superconducting levitation discs of similar composition, shape and size can be securely used for space applications as well as for nuclear applications when the dose of irradiation is comparable to the undertaken experiments. The attention has to be paid to the very small parts, where the surface damage may cause some problems in performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]