Design,development and fabrication of indigenous 30 kA NbTi CICC for fusion relevant superconducting magnet

The fusion relevant superconducting magnet is under development in India using a cable-in-conduit-conductor (CICC) with operating current of 30 kA at 5.5 T and 4.5 K. The 30 kA NbTi based CICC is designed on the basis of desired critical design parameters as well as mechanical fabrication considerations. The 30 kA CICC has been designed having square cross-section (30 mm × 30 mm) consisting NbTi as superconducting cable, SS316LN as jacket material and SS304 foil as wrapping around the cabled strands. The design configuration of 30 kA NbTi CICC has been discussed in this paper. The NbTi base high current carrying strands have been fabricated indigenously using direct extrusion and cold drawing process. The 100 m long NbTi–Cu strands twisting, insertion of cabled strands into a circular conduit has been developed with pull through technology. The welding process qualification and effects of cold work on jacket material at room temperature have been elaborated in this paper. The manufacturing parameters and quality procedures for development of CICC have been successfully established and demonstrated with fabrication of 100 m NbTi based CICC without any technical difficulties.     

A review of thermal-hydraulic issues in ITER cable-in-conduit conductors

Problems related to cable-in-conduit conductors (CICC) are intrinsically multi-physics involving coupled electro-magnetic/mechanical/thermal-hydraulic fields. Here we concentrate on the thermal-hydraulic issues because, although the CICC was first proposed for the low-T_C superconducting coils of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) many years ago, CICC thermal-hydraulics alone is less understood than could be expected. Some of the difficulties are due to the multi-channel nature of the ITER CICC, where strands containing the superconducting filaments are twisted in multi-stage sub-bundles (petals) delimited by wrappings and concentrated in an annular (porous-medium like) region, while a central channel, delimited by a spiral, provides lower hydraulic impedance and pressure relief to the flow of the supercritical helium coolant. Other difficulties are related to the multi-scale nature of this problem, with length scales relevant for thermal-hydraulics ranging from the strand diameter (<∼10⁻³ m), to the CICC length in a coil (up to several 10² m). On the other hand, taking advantage of this length-scale separation, the models presently used for CICC simulations are typically 1D (along the conductor) but they need constitutive relations (like friction and heat transfer coefficients) for the transverse mass, momentum and energy transport processes occurring between different conductor elements. The database for the transverse transport coefficients, unfortunately, does not appear complete, or free of internal contradictions, often because the smallness of the transverse scales makes even an experimental assessment of these processes difficult. Here we discuss these issues and possible strategies for overcoming some of the difficulties are proposed.     

Design research on the conductor of 10 kA class HTS DC power cable

High temperature superconducting (HTS) DC power cable shows a wide application prospect in the field of power transmission for its nearly lossless and rather high capacity. A 360 m/10 kA HTS DC power cable system, which connects the rectifier output of a substation with the bus bar of an electrolytic aluminium cell, will be put into operation at Henan Zhongfu Industrial Co., Ltd. As one of the items in this project, a 5 m/10 kA HTS DC power cable was developed, which is used to investigate the conductor design, fabrication, current-carrying capacity and stability of the 360 m/10 kA HTS power cable.The HTS DC power cable core consists of five conductor layers wound with spliced Bi-2223 wires with the length of 600 m. The cable core has five layers and 23 conductors in each layer with the outer diameter of 45.42 mm. The superconducting power cable is fabricated and tested. The critical current is about 14.3 kA at 77 K. The superconducting power cable is charged to 10 kA with rate of 10 A/s and operates at steady-state for 30 min.In this paper, the 10 kA HTS DC power cable design, fabrication and test are presented. The experimental research of the performance of spliced superconducting wire and charging, steady-state operating performance of the cable was carried out.     

Cryogenic design and test results of 30-m flexible hybrid energy transfer line with liquid hydrogen and superconducting MgB2 cable

In this paper we present the development of a new hybrid energy transfer line with 30 m length. The line is essentially a flexible 30 m hydrogen cryostat that has three sections with different types of thermal insulation in each section: simple vacuum superinsulation, vacuum superinsulation with liquid nitrogen precooling and active evaporating cryostatting (AEC) system. We performed thermo-hydraulic tests of the cryostat to compare three thermo-insulating methods. The tests were made at temperatures from 20 to 26 K, hydrogen flow from 70 to 450 g/s and pressure from 0.25 to 0.5 MPa. It was found that AEC thermal insulation was the most effective in reducing heat transfer from room temperature to liquid hydrogen in ∼10 m section of the cryostat, indicating that it can be used for long superconducting power cables. High voltage current leads were developed as well. The current leads and superconducting MgB₂ cable passed high voltage DC test up to 50 kV DC. Critical current of the cable at ∼21 K was 3500 A. It means that the 30 m hybrid energy system developed is able to deliver ∼50–60 MW of chemical power and ∼50–75 MW of electrical power, i.e. up to ∼135 MW in total.     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer through porous media in superfluid helium

An experimental investigation of heat transfer through porous media in superfluid helium has been conducted in the framework of the development of porous electrical insulations for superconducting magnet cables cooled by superfluid helium. Several types of porous media with different characteristics were tested and, in particular, samples with pore size diameters of 0.1 μm, 1 μm, 2 μm, 10 μm and 20 μm. Temperature and pressure were measured between an insulating inner bath and the cryostat bath, communicating only through the porous medium. The cryostat bath is held constant all along the measurement and, for each sample, the tests are performed for bath temperature from 1.4 K to 2.1 K with 0.1 K increment. Depending on the porous medium average pore size diameter, different flow regimes are observed: for porous media with a pore diameter of 0.1 and 1 μm, only the Landau regime is observed whereas for porous media with a pore diameter of 2 μm, we observed the Landau regime and the Gorter-Mellink regime. For samples with a pore diameter of 10 and 20 μm, measurements only permitted to detect the Gorter-Mellink regime. In the laminar regime, the permeability of the samples was determined and it was found that the permeability is constant for bath temperature above 1.9 K whereas it increases as the bath temperature decreases from 1.8 K to 1.4 K. For samples with a pore size diameter of 10 and 20 μm, measurement permits only to observe the turbulent regime and the analysis exhibits a constant average tortuosity for each samples, independently of the bath temperature.     

Low temperature physical properties of a high Mn austenitic steel JK2LB

High manganese austenitic stainless steel JK2LB is developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency for applications as a conduit material for superconducting cable-in-conduit conductors for the magnets of international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER). The low temperature physical property data of this material are very important to ITER magnet design. Therefore in this paper, our measurements of the physical properties including room temperature Young’s modulus and thermal expansion, magnetization, thermal conductivity, specific heat and resistivity at temperatures from room temperature down to 2 K are reported. We found that JK2LB is antiferromagnetic at low temperatures with a Néel temperature of 240 K. This is consistent with a prediction based on the chemical composition of the austenite stainless steel. The antiferromagnetic phase transition is also evident in the resistivity vs. T curve. Nevertheless, no anomalies are observable in its specific heat and thermal conductivity from 2 K to 300 K. The thermal expansion of this steel between 10 K and 300 K is about 0.22%. Its Young’s modulus, specific heat and thermal conductivity are comparable to that of 316LN stainless steel.     

Using the HELIOS facility for assessment of bundle-jacket thermal coupling in a CICC

In a Cable In Conduit Conductor (CICC) cooled by forced circulation of supercritical helium, the heat exchange in the bundle region can play a significant role for conductor safe operation, while remaining a quite uncertain parameter. Heat exchange between bundle and jacket depends on the relative contributions of convective heat transfer due to the helium flow inside the bundle and of thermal resistance due to the wrappings between the cable and the conduit.In order to qualify this thermal coupling at realistic operating conditions, a dedicated experiment on a 1.2 m sample of ITER Toroidal Field (TF) dummy conductor was designed and performed in the HELIOS test facility at CEA Grenoble. Several methods were envisaged, and the choice was made to assess bundle-jacket heat transfer coefficient by measuring the temperature of a solid copper cylinder inserted over the conductor jacket and submitted to heat deposition on its outer surface.The mock-up was manufactured and tested in spring 2015. Bundle-jacket heat transfer coefficient was found in the range 300–500 W m⁻² K⁻¹. Results analysis suggests that the order of magnitude of convective heat transfer coefficient inside bundle is closer to Colburn–Reynolds analogy than to Dittus–Boelter correlation, and that bundle-jacket thermal coupling is mainly limited by thermal resistance due to wrappings. A model based on an equivalent layer of stagnant helium between wraps and jacket was proposed and showed a good consistency with the experiment, with relevant values for the helium layer thickness.     

Development of a lightweight low-current 10 K 4 T magnet for space-flight ADRs

Future space missions will include detectors and other components cooled to cryogenic temperatures by adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADRs) coupled with mechanical cryocoolers. In such systems the ADRs require lightweight, low-current superconducting magnets. At least one of an ADR’s magnets must operate at the cryocooler’s coldest stage temperature. This temperature should be as high as possible in order to improve operating efficiency and design flexibility. We previously reported the development of a lightweight (1 kg) low-current (8 A) Nb₃Sn magnet which produces a 3 T central field at 10 K. We now report our progress in developing a new 10 K magnet of similar size made with smaller diameter Nb₃Sn wire which will produce a 4 T central field with approximately 5 A.     

Manufacturing of lightweight low-current Nb3Sn ADR magnets operating at 10 K

Adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADRs) using superconducting magnets are under development for cooling many NASA instruments. Due to higher efficiency of cryocoolers at 10 K, Nb₃Sn magnets operating at 10 K are favored for space ADRs. Further, magnets need to be as light as possible and have low operating currents. This paper discusses technologies for the manufacture of lightweight, low-current Nb₃Sn magnets and reports on testing of a 35 mm bore by 60 mm long magnet. This magnet weighed less than 1 kg and successfully produced 3 T at 11.5 K with an operating current of 8 A.     

Modelization of the thermal coupling between the ITER TF coil conductor and the structure cooling circuit

The ITER Toroidal Field (TF) coils are required not to quench during the most demanding event: a plasma disruption followed by a fast discharge of the Central Solenoid (CS), the Poloidal Field (PF) coils and the Correction Coils (CC). This event creates large heat deposition in the ITER magnet stainless steel structures in addition to the conductor AC losses. In order to prevent quench occurring in the TF conductor, cooling channels, implemented in the TF coil structure (TFCS), have to remove a large fraction of the heat deposited. The first integrated TF and structure mock-up has been manufactured and then tested in the HELIOS cryogenic test facility (CEA Grenoble) to determine the thermal coupling between the TFCS and the TF conductor, both actively cooled by supercritical helium at 4.4 K and 5 bar. It consists in a stainless steel casing, a cooling pipe glued with resin in the casing groove, winding pack (WP) ground insulation, a radial plate and a copper dummy cable-in-conduit-conductor (CICC). Steady state as well as transient thermal characterizations have been completed in May 2015. Simulation results by thermal hydraulic codes (VENECIA/SuperMagnet) and some of the experimental data are presented and discussed. The thermal coupling between the helium in the cooling tube and the TF coil structure is then modelled as an equivalent heat transfer coefficient in order to simplify the thermal hydraulic (TH) models. Comparison between simplified coupling and detailed coupling is presented.     

Quench protection tests of a cryocooler cooled 6 T NbTi superconducting magnet by an active power method

When a quench occurs in a superconducting magnet, excessive joule heating may damage the magnet. We have presented the quench protection system based on an active power method. Our previous quench protection tests have been carried out for small superconducting magnets whose self inductances are less than several hundred mH to verify principles of our proposed system. In this paper, we present experimental results of quench protection tests of a cryocooler cooled 6 T NbTi superconducting magnet (self inductance 15.5 H), which is a commercial size magnet made by Tamakawa Co., Ltd. We confirmed that our proposed system could inhibit the maximum temperature of the superconducting magnet (initial temperature 4.3 K) after the quench to less than about 44 K at operation magnetic field 5.5 T. Experimental results suggest that our proposed system is useful for practical used superconducting magnets.     

Status of Nb3Sn strand development in Korea

Although there were many research activities for the development of superconducting Nb₃Sn strands, the major one started under KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) project in 1996. After the success of a large scale production test of Nb₃Sn strand using the internal tin route, a new mass production facility is under operation since 2004.KAT (Kiswire Advanced Technology Ltd.), an affiliate of Kiswire Ltd., manufactured various types of Nb₃Sn strands using the internal tin process optimized for fusion magnets. For the Nb₃Sn strand of the KSTAR PF coil, each module has ～190 niobium filaments and 19 modules are restacked for the strand production. For the ITER TF strand, there are two types of basic design. One of them has 37and 19 modules with 169–219 niobium filaments in each module. The other has 19 modules with 164–190 niobium filaments in each module. Both the designs satisfy the requirements for ITER TF strand with enough margins. The characterization of the strands is performed by hysteresis loss measurement, RRR (Residual Resistivity Ratio), n-value, and critical current density measurement vs. temperature, magnetic field, and strain. The critical current density of the strands reached around 1100 A/mm² at 12 T and 4.2 K. A well defined quality assurance program helped to produce a high quality strand with a piece length of more than 15 km. KAT has been provided Nb₃Sn strand for KSTAR PF Coil and ready to produce the Nb₃Sn strand for ITER TF coil.In this paper, the design concept, the fabrication procedure and the result of the strand performance test are discussed.     

Modeling of a horizontal circulation open loop in two-phase helium

In the process of the cryogenic cooling system design of the superconducting magnet of the R³B spectrometer, heat and mass transfer in a two-phase He I natural circulation loop with a horizontal heated section has been investigated experimentally. The experiments were conducted on a 2 m high experimental loop with a copper tube of 10 mm inner diameter uniformly heated over a length of 4 m. All data were obtained near atmospheric pressure. Evolution of the mass flow rates as a function of heat flux in steady state condition are presented and compared to a numerical model that have been developed to assist the design of such a cooling scheme. The model is based on a one-dimensional equations system, which includes mass, momentum and energy balances. It is based on the homogeneous model with a specific friction coefficient for the horizontal heated section. The model reproduces with an acceptable accuracy the experimental results and now serves as a tool for the design.     

Experimental study on a Nb3Al insert coil under high magnetic field

Nb₃Al is one of the most promising superconductors to replace Nb₃Sn in large scale, high field superconducting magnet. Since the complicated conductor manufacturing process, long and stable Nb₃Al conductor is difficult to acquire in a commercial scale. Based on a 70 m length of Nb–Al precursor conductor, we designed and fabricated a Nb₃Al coil. The coil winding, low temperature diffusion heat treatment and epoxy impregnation are described in detail. The finished Nb₃Al coil is tested as an insert in a background magnet. The test is performed at the background field from 7 T to 15 T. The test results are analyzed and presented in this paper.     

Nb3Sn material development in Russia

In the USSR and later in Russia, the main activities in technical superconductivity were concentrated in the institutes that belonged to the Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom). The development of new technologies shortly transferred to the large-scale industrial production of NbTi and Nb₃Sn superconductors in early 1970s. Two main technologies for multifilamentary Nb₃Sn strands were under investigation during that time – bronze-process and internal tin method. More than 25 ton of Nb₃Sn bronze-processed strands were produced for the fabrication of 90 ton of conductors for application in the magnet system of first in the world fusion facility (tokamak T-15) with magnet system based on the intermetallic compound. The characteristics of these strands and conductors have been briefly described. The requirements for the Nb₃Sn strands constantly increased and the main R&D on the enhancement of critical current density have been reviewed. For bronze-processed strands the increase of the tin content in large ingots was the crucial factor. The artificial doping of niobium filaments by niobium–titanium alloy was invented, which enabled to improve the workability of Nb₃Sn strands, with enhanced critical current density in high fields. For internal tin Nb₃Sn strands the main R&D were concentrated on the optimization of the layouts of the strand and on the multistage heat treatment because of the inevitable liquid phase formation which could result in severe distortion of the geometrical arrangement of the filaments and even in destruction of the whole strand. The main results of these investigations have been presented. The corresponding impact of these R&D on the design of bronze-processed and internal tin strands has been analyzed. The quantitative estimations of the grain size were made for bronze-processed and internal tin strands. It was shown that in bronze-processed and internal tin strands subjected to the standard ITER heat treatment characterized by two stages at 575 °C and 650 °C, the variation of Nb₃Sn grain size in the range of 30–300 nm could be observed. The correlations of microstructure and superconducting properties have been discussed. The ITER connected activities in Russia on the development of Nb₃Sn strands, which met the HP-II specification, have been outlined. The results of the ITER Model Coil Program have shown a degradation of the critical current of large cable-in-conduit conductors (CICC) built with Nb₃Sn strands. For this reason, the investigation on the strain dependence of critical current density in Nb₃Sn strands of different designs is of high interest and priority. The R&D on development of bronze-processed and internal tin Nb₃Sn strands with enhanced, by the nanostructured Cu–Nb material, mechanical strength have been reviewed.     

Performance validation tests on 80 K bubble type of shields for SST-1

The 80 K thermal shields of Steady State Superconducting Tokamak (SST-1) minimize the steady state heat loads on the superconducting magnet system at 4.5 K from ambient. Uniform temperature, vacuum and cryo compatibility is desired for the 80 K shields. In order to meet these requirements, the bubble/embossed type of design concept is adopted. This design ensures lower pressure drop and better temperature uniformity within ±5 K. Special attention has been given for preventing direct radiation on the magnet system. As part of performance validation tests, a group of 80 K thermal shields have undergone rigorous testing protocols and procedures. The temperature distribution, helium leak tightness and insulation resistance tests have been carried out for SST-1 thermal shields before final assembly of the machine. The test design, procedures and results of the 80 K thermal shields will be discussed in this paper.     

Design and optimization of the 12.5 T EFDA dipole magnet

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of a recent study carried out—within the framework of the European Fusion Program—to design a 12.5 T superconducting dipole. By focusing on the CICC based design option, the overall design procedure is presented. In particular, the 2D optimization of the dipole cross section is described including the magneto-static analysis of the winding and iron yoke, the mechanical analysis of the conductor jacket, insulation and outer cylinder, the conductor hot spot analysis, etc. As far as the thermo-hydraulic design is concerned, simulations of nominal as well as offset operating conditions (e.g., magnet quench) are presented with emphasis on their role played in the overall magnet design. For example, diagrams reporting the helium heat removal capabilities, pressure drop, mass flow, etc. are shown and their usefulness as guidance for the magnet designer described.     

Development and parametric study of the convection-type stationary adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) for hydrogen re-condensation

The adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) system in this paper is composed of a conduction-cooled current cycling high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet system, a magnetic bed assembly, its heat exchange parts and an auxiliary precooling stage (a commercial GM cryocooler and a liquid nitrogen vessel). The whole magnetic refrigeration system including the conduction-cooled HTS magnet is cooled by the precooling stage to absorb the rejection heat of the ADR cycle. The packed bed type magnetic bed consists of tiny irregular powders of Dy_0.9Gd_0.1Ni₂ enclosed in a thin walled stainless steel container (22.2 mm in O.D., 0.3 mm in thickness and 40.0 mm in height). The precooled heat transfer fluid (helium) travels through the magnetic material when heat rejection is required; otherwise the helium stagnates within its pores (pseudo-adiabatic process). Flow of the heat transfer fluid substitutes for the function of a traditional heat switch, creating, essentially, a forced-convection type heat switch. The magnetic bed assembly is periodically magnetized and demagnetized at the center of the conduction-cooled HTS magnet which can stably generate both strong and alternating magnetic field from 0 T to 3.0 T (0–130 A) with an average ramp rate of 0.24 T s⁻¹. The cooling capacities of the ADR system at 20 K which is the normal boiling point (NBP) of hydrogen, are 11.1 J cycle⁻¹, 6.3 J cycle⁻¹ and 1.9 J cycle⁻¹ when the temperature spans are 1 K, 2 K and 3 K, respectively. We describe the detailed construction of the ADR system and discuss the test results with the operational parameters (the entrained helium pressure, the mass flow rate of helium and the operating temperature span) in the 20 K region.     

Superferric quadrupoles for FAIR Super FRS energy buncher

The quadrupole magnets for FAIR Super FRS energy buncher have large usable aperture, high magnetic pole-tip field and high gradient field quality. The iron-dominated magnets with superconducting coils have to be used in this application. The NbTi coil, laminated iron, and support structure of about 22 tons is immersed in liquid helium. The 4.5 K helium chamber is completely covered with a thermal shield cooled by helium at 50–80 K on its outer and inner surface. The helium chamber and thermal shield is enclosed in a vacuum shell.The paper presents design details of the long quadrupole. Coupled thermal, magnetic and structural analysis was carried out to design the magnet iron, magnet coil, helium vessel and support links and ensure the required gradient field quality is achieved. The paper also presents the design of support links and outer vacuum chamber.     

A lightweight low-current 10 K magnet for space-flight ADRs

Future space missions will include detectors and other components cooled to cryogenic temperatures by adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADRs) coupled with mechanical cryocoolers. In such systems the ADRs require lightweight, low-current superconducting magnets. At least one of an ADR’s magnets must operate at the cryocooler’s coldest stage temperature. This temperature should be as high as possible in order to improve operating efficiency and design flexibility. Until now all space-flight compatible magnets have been made with NbTi wire, which has limited their operating temperatures to below about 5 K. We have developed a lightweight (1 Kg) low-current (8 A) Nb₃Sn magnet which produces a 3 T central field at 10 K. We explain the choice of this magnet’s specifications and describe its performance testing.