Strand movements in cable-in-conduit conductors

The compression tests with dummy bundles have been performed to investigate the strand movements in cable-in-conduit conductors. The bundle consists of 20 mm long vinyl tubes. The cross section of the bundle is a round-cornered rectangle of 10 mm × 20 mm. Body force was applied in the transverse direction by means of a pressurized argon gas flow at room temperature. Pressure gradient in the bundle produced body force acting on each strand. The strand movements were observed with a CCD camera. Surface pressure was also applied with a piston, and a comparison has been made between two methods. Influence of a sub-bundle structure on the movements is also investigated

Cryogenic Stability of LTS/HTS Hybrid Conductors

Hybrid-type superconductors are proposed by utilizing a bundle of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes as a stabilizer of low-temperature superconducting (LTS) cables in order to extend the basic research on the cryogenic stability of solid composite-type superconductors and to explore its potential. Since the effective resistivity of HTS is significantly lower than that of pure metals of equivalent cross-sectional area, a bundle of HTS tapes may work as a good stabilizer to achieve high current density. Short sample experiments have been carried out by modifying the aluminum-stabilized superconductor used for the LHD helical coils and the cryogenic stability was examined

Effects of spatially limited external magnetic fields on short sample tests of large-scale superconductors

For short sample tests of large-scale superconductor coil conductors, it is difficult to get sufficient spatial uniformity using external magnetic fields because of the size limitations of test facilities. The effects of spatially limited external magnetic fields on short sample tests are discussed by comparing the test results for narrow and broad external magnetic fields. The authors tested short samples of pool-cooled 10 kA class superconductors using two kinds of split coils which are different in bore size. The measured recovery currents for the narrow external field are more than twice those for the broad field. It shows that the insufficient spatial distribution of the external field biases the stability measurements of superconductor

Operational status of the superconducting system for LHD

Large Helical Device (LHD) is a heliotron-type experimental fusion device which has the capability of confining current-less and steady-state plasma. The primary feature on the engineering aspect of LHD is using superconducting (SC) coils for magnetic confinement: two pool boiling helical coils (H1, H2) and three pairs of forced-flow poloidal coils (IV, IS, OV). These coils are connected to the power supplies by SC bus-lines. Five plasma experimental campaigns have been performed successfully in four years from 1998. The fifth operation cycle started in August 2001 and finished in March 2002. We have succeeded to obtain high plasma parameters such as 10 keV of electron temperature, 5 keV of ion temperature and beta value of 3.2%. The operational histories of the SC coils, the SC bus-lines and the cryogenic system have been demonstrating high reliability of the large scale SC system. The operational status and the results of device engineering experiments are summarized

Stability and safety estimates and tests of a superconducting bus-line for large-scale superconducting coils

We have been developing a flexible superconducting bus-line as a unit electrical feeder between large-scale superconducting coils and their power supplies away from the coils. The designed superconducting bus-line consists of a pair of +/- aluminum stabilized NbTi/Cu compacted strand cables and a coaxial four-channel transfer line. A full-scale model of the SC bus-line (20 m long) has been constructed and tested successfully up to 40 kA without a quench under the short-circuit condition. Stability tests were also done by inducing a forced quench with heaters. A minimum propagation current larger than 32.5 kA was confirmed. Thus, the bus-line was cryogenically stabilized at the rated current of 30 kA. We have examined the test results and evaluated the stability and safety margins of this bus-line. The design criteria for a superconducting bus-line are also shown for large-scale superconducting coils with operating current as a parameter

Stability test results on the aluminum stabilized superconductor for the helical coils of LHD

Stability tests have been carried out on short samples of the aluminum/copper stabilized composite-type superconductors developed and used for the pool-cooled helical coils of the Large Helical Device. The waveform of the longitudinal voltage initiated by resistive heaters shows a short-time rise before reaching a final value, which seems to correspond to the diffusion process of transport current into the pure aluminum stabilizer. The propagation velocity has a finite value even for the transport current being lower than the recovery current, and it differs depending on the direction with respect to the transport current

Asymmetrical normal-zone propagation observed in the aluminum-stabilized superconductor for the LHD helical coils

Transient normal-transitions have been observed in the superconducting helical coils of the Large Helical Device (LHD). Stability tests have been performed for an R&D coil as an upgrading program of LHD, and we observed asymmetrical propagation of an initiated normal-zone. In some conditions, a normal-zone propagates only in one direction along the conductor and it hence forms a traveling normal-zone. The Hall electric field generated in the longitudinal direction in the aluminum stabilizer is a plausible candidate to explain the observed asymmetrical normal-zone propagation

Development and tests of a flexible superconducting bus-line for the Large Helical Device

A flexible superconducting bus-line is proposed as an electrical feeder between the superconducting coils of the Large Helical Device (LHD) and the device\u27s power supplies. The bus-line consists of superconducting cables and a cryogenic flexible transfer-line. A specially developed aluminum stabilized NbTi/Cu compacted strand cable satisfies requirements for large current capacity, high stability, high reliability and flexibility. A full-scale model with a length of 20 m was designed and constructed to investigate the feasibility and performance of the superconducting bus-line. Its fabrication, transportation, installation, cooling and excitation tests were successfully carried out. The bus-line was very stable and could be excited up to 40 kA (rated current is 30 kA) without a quench. The stability, current distribution and heat load were also measure

First Cool-Down Performance of the LHD

The first cool-down test of the Large Helical Device (LHD) and the performance of the LHD cryogenic system during the first cycle operation are described. The first cool-down started on Feb. 23, 1998 and finished on Mar. 22. After the cool-down, the excitation tests of the SC coils up to 1.5 T and the first cycle operations for plasma physics experiments were conducted until May 18. The first cycle operation was successfully completed after the warm-up process to room temperature from May 19 to Jun. 15. The cooling characteristics of the LHD, such as temperature distribution during cool-down, heat loads under steady state condition, reliability during long-term operation, are reporte