Development Status of the HTS SECAS Conductor for a Full-Size Test Sample

Le résumé fourni par la source

The ENEA Superconductivity Laboratory, in collaboration with the industrial partner TRATOS Cavi, is continuing the development activity of the high-current / high-field SECAS Cable-in-Conduit conductor, based on stacked REBCO tapes and a segmented, sector-shaped Cu former. The test outcome of various prototypes, carried out at 77 K and self-field in the previous years, have clarified important aspects of the manufacturing process and cable performance, and identified the key aspects of the processing steps. The industrial manufacturing process is consequently being developed, and partly applied for the manufacture of full-size samples, to be tested in the SULTAN facility. The conductor is designed to operate at 4.5 K, with a current of 60 kA and at a field of 18 T (as required by the EUROFusion DEMO development plan). Different layouts have been probed, either based on 4 mm-wide, or on 12 mm-wide tapes, but maintaining the same total superconductor cross-section, to verify the impact on AC losses and on tape mechanics. Two of these layouts are being assembled into a single SULTAN sample, made of two legs connected by a bottom joint. The sample will also be equipped with fiber optic sensors, to demonstrate quench detection capabilities. The main results of the development activities, based so far on tests carried out at 77 K and self-field of short cable lengths, are presented and commented in this work.

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