Analysis of Cable-in-Conduit Conductors' DC Performance in Light of Strand's Experimental Properties

Conductor qualification will be carried out with four Cable-in-Conduit Conductor （CICC） samples made of superconducting strands. The direct current （DC） performance of these samples will be tested in the SULTAN facility. The critical current densities of the strands can be well simulated by empirical equations. In this paper, a model is illustrated to predict the DC behaviour of the cable in light of the single strand＇s experimental properties. The simulation results were compared with experimental results.

A 600-m Jacketing Line of Cable-In-Conduit Conductor (CICC) and the First 600-m Dummy Cable

A cable-in-conduit conductor(CICC ) production line was designed and constructed in Institute of Plasma Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPPCAS) by the end of 2000. It can produce a length of 600 meters and three kinds of sections of 20.8±0. 1×20.8±0.1, 20.4±0. 1×20.4± 0.1 and 18.6±0.1×18.6±0.1mm2. If the rollers of the shaping machine are changed, it can also produce other sizes of CICCs. So-called inserting-cable technology is adopted in this production line, where the procedures consist of tube pre-treatment (cleaning, pressure and leakage testing, end cutting), conduits butt-welding, six kinds of quality checking (endoscopy, dye penetration, pressure control, leakage testing, ultrasonic inspection and X-ray testing), cable inserting, shaping (compacting & squaring), pre-bending & winding and final checking. Now all the instruments and facilities required for these technologies have been installed and got ready. Some key technologies have been explored and good results obtained. Some short samples were produced and a 600 meters long sample was made out in August, 2001.

Current Sharing Temperature Test and Simulation with GANDALF Code for ITER PF2 Conductor Sample

Cable-in-conduit conductor （CICC） conductor sample of the PF2 coil for ITER was tested in the SULTAN facility. According to the test results, the CICC conductor sample exhibited a stable performance regarding the current sharing temperature. Under the typical operational conditions of a current of 45 kA, a magnetic field of 4 T and a temperature of 5 K for PF2, the test result for the conductor current sharing temperature is 6.71 K, with a temperature margin of 1.71 K. For a comparison thermal-hydraulic analysis of the PF2 conductor was carried out using GANDALF code in a 1-D model, and the result is consistent with the test one.

CICC Joint Development and Test for the Test Facility

The superconducting joint of the NbTi Cable-in -conduit Conductor (CICC) has been developed and tested on the magnet test facility at Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The CICC is composed of (2NbTi+lCu)x3x3x(6+ltube) strands each with 0.85 mm in diameter, which has been developed for a central solenoid model coil. The effective length of the joint is about 500 mm. There have been two common fabrication modes, one of them is to integrate the 2 CICC terminals with the copper substrate via lead-soldering, and the other is to mechanically compress the above two parts into an integrated unit. In the current range from 2 kA to 10 kA the joint resistance changes slightly. Up to now, 11 TF magnets, a central solenoid model coil, a central solenoid prototype coil, and a large PF model coil of PF large coil have been completed via the latter joint in the test facility.

Design and Manufacture of Full-Size Testing Joints for EAST

The conductors of both the toroidal field （TF） and poloidal field （PF） coils of EAST are NiTi cable-in-conduit conductors （CICCs）. The sizes of this type of CICC are 20.3 mm×20.3 mm and 18.5 mm×18.5 mm respectively. A relevant R＆D program has been carried out for three years at the Research and Manufacture Center （RMC） of the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences （ASIPP） to acquire the manufacturing techniques and master the behavior of the testing joints. Based on the experience gained from the manufacture and test of a sub-cable joint, three kinds of joints were made. The final design was determined after carefully evaluating their simple mechanism, good cooling line, lower AC loss and resistance, compact size, and convenience for manufacture and on-site assembly. Two steps were developed to carry out the final joint. The first step was forming the terminals＇ super conductors. The second step was clamping the two terminals together to ensure their good contact with the copper conductor sole. The two terminals could be connected in different directions to get two kinds of conductor connections. A hydraulic instrument was developed to impact the terminals. It could impact the terminals in high accuracy in terms of their size and shape. The cross section of the terminal was tried in circular and an elliptic shape. Five full-size joints were made according to the design and then tested. When they were tested in bathing cold condition, their resistance was from 2 nΩ to 4 nΩ The latest joint was tested in real working conditions where the resistance varied from 2 nΩ to 12 nΩ, depending on the testing current ranging from 2 kA to 10 kA.

The Investigation on Welding Processes for SUS316LN Tubes Used in Superconducting Magnetic System of EAST

The force flow cooled superconducting cable-in-conduit conductor （CICC） is used in both of EAST toroidal field （TF） and poloidal field （PF） coils. The conductor consists of multi-stage NbTi superconducting cable and 1.5 mm thick square jacket. The cable is pulled through in a thin wall circular jacket and then compacted to square cross-section conductor. The jacket material is SUS316LN austenitic stainless steel seamless tubes （about 10 m each）, which is assembled by butt-welding up to 600 m. The results of the welding procedure investigation and quality assurance procedures carrying out are described in this paper.