Experimental investigation on the effect of transverse electromagnetic force on the V-T curve of the CIC conductor

Nunoya, Yoshihiko; Isono, Takaaki; Okuno, Kiyoshi

The voltage temperature characteristic curve (V-T curve) observed in the large-current NbSn CIC conductor, which was used in the ITER CS Insert, showed a gradual take-off toward normal state as compared with the V-T curve of an individual strand composing the conductor. The gradual take-off corresponds to the reduction in so-called "n-value." In addition, the take-off shifted to lower temperature than that of the strand, namely lower current sharing temperature (Tcs) or lower critical current (Ic). These behaviors cannot be explained by non-uniform magnetic field accompanying enlargement of the conductor, or by non-uniform contact resistance of the conductor terminals. Investigation is therefore required to clarify the condition of each strand in such large CIC conductor, especially in terms of the strain state under large electromagnetic force. In a CIC conductor, since strands are twisted to form a cable, each strand is mechanically supported by a nearby strand at an interval related to the twist pitch. Between two supporting points, the strand is fee to move under transverse force and a cyclic deformation will occur along the strand length. We designed the apparatus to simulate this cyclic deformation and measured the V-T characteristic of the strand. When the strand received the transverse force of about 500 N/m, n-value reduced to one-fifth (about 6) of the original value, which corresponds to that observed in the CS Insert. The level of the force agreed to the electromagnetic force when the CS Insert was energized to 46 kA at 13 T (about 40 A each strand 13 T = 520 N/m). This suggests that the transverse force acting on each strand can explain the behavior of the V-T curve of the large-current CIC conductor.