[Table of Contents]

Plasma and Fusion Research

Volume 7, 2405045 (2012)

Regular Articles


Fundamental Evaluation of Joint Resistance in Mechanical Butt Joint of a Stacked GdBCO Conductor
Tatsuya OHINATA, Satoshi ITO and Hidetoshi HASHIZUME
Department of Quantum Science and Energy Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01-2 Aramaki-Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, Japan
(Received 9 December 2011 / Accepted 23 February 2012 / Published 10 May 2012)

Abstract

In this study, joint resistance in mechanical butt joint of a single GdBCO tape was evaluated by experiments and current distribution analyses to apply a remountable HTS magnet for a future fusion reactor. The results showed that thickness of the metal layers of GdBCO tape, cutting angle of the conductor and existence of soldered interface affect the joint resistance. According to discussion based on the results, an optimized joint structure could achieve joint resistance of 0.4µΩ for single GdBCO tape, which corresponds to 5 nΩ for 100 kA class HTS conductor. The resistance has to be reduced almost a half value of the present result to be accepted from the view point of electric power for cooling.


Keywords

superconducting magnet, high-temperature superconductor, mechanical joint, remountable high-temperature superconducting magnet, current distribution analysis

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.7.2405045


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This paper may be cited as follows:

Tatsuya OHINATA, Satoshi ITO and Hidetoshi HASHIZUME, Plasma Fusion Res. 7, 2405045 (2012).