Modeling of Imperfect Nb3Sn Superconducting Wires under Transverse Loading
Authors: Luc D’Hauthuille and Yuhu Zhai
Abstract: High field superconducting magnets play a
very important role in many large-scale physics experiments,
particularly particle colliders and fusion confinement devices
such as LHC and ITER. The two most common superconductors used in
these applications are NbTi and Nb3Sn. Nb3Sn
wires are favored because of their significantly higher Jc
(critical current density) for higher magnetic field applications.
The main disadvantage of Nb3Sn is that the
superconducting performance of the wire is highly strain-sensitive
and it is very brittle. This strain-sensitivity may be strongly
influenced by cracked filaments. Cracks are induced by large
stress concentrators that can be traced to the presence of voids
in the wire.
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Presented at: 22nd Topical Meeting on the
Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE), Philadelphia, PA, August 2016
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