A thermo-mechanical-electromagnetic model is developed for estimating the delamination and current-carrying degradation of epoxy-impregnated pancake coils. The mixed-mode traction–separation law and the Weibull distribution of delamination strength are considered in simulating the onset and extension of the delamination caused by thermal stress. Because of the considerable differences in thermal shrinkage between the epoxy resin, insulation tape, and second-generation high temperature superconducting (2G HTS) tape, the accumulated radial thermal stress locally exceeds the electro-mechanical delamination strength and even the mechanical delamination strength. The electro-mechanical delamination strength of the 2G HTS tape is the transverse tensile or shear stress level corresponding to an abrupt irreversible critical current degradation. The mechanical delamination strength is the transverse tensile or shear stress limit corresponding to a structural failure. After injecting current into the coil, we obtained the E–I curve of the coil. The critical current and n-value of the superconducting coil indicate a strong degradation after epoxy-impregnation. The current-carrying degradation precedes delamination because the electro-mechanical delamination strength is smaller than the mechanical delamination strength. The degradation is more obvious in large than in small superconducting coils because the radial thermal stress is larger. The onset of degradation depends on the minimum delamination strength, suggesting that caution is required in screening the 2G HTS tape before winding the coil. The simulation results indicate that reducing the thickness of the insulation tape and the amount of epoxy resin effectively reduces the degradation of epoxy-impregnated pancake coils.

Superconducting conductors on round core (CORC ^® ) cables and wires can meet the needs of large high-field magnets, such as particle accelerators and compact nuclear fusion machines, due to their simple cabling process, high current-carrying capacity and reliable operation under high mechanical stresses. Many high-field magnets require CORC ^® cables to carry a current of thousands of amperes in a background magnetic field exceeding 20 T. As a result, the large electromagnetic forces will deform the cable in the axial direction due to hoop stress and in the transverse direction by compressive stress. Therefore, it is essential to determine the irreversible deformation limit of the CORC ^® cable under axial tensile load and optimize the cabling parameters to potentially extend this limit. Analytical and numerical methods are developed to assess the performance degradation of CORC ^® wires under axial tensile load. The strain level, interlayer contact pressure and friction and their impact on the critical current are calculated by combining the mechanical response and the T-A method. Analyzing the results shows that the winding angle of the tape and the Poisson’s ratio of the inner core are key factors affecting the irreversible tensile strain limit of CORC ^® wires. The smaller the winding angle and the higher the Poisson’s ratio of the inner core, the higher the irreversible tensile strain limit. For multi-layer CORC ^® wires, the initial contact pressure caused by the cabling process must also be considered. The inter-layer interaction is coupled with the tape strain of each layer. The results of this research can serve as a basis for optimizing and designing CORC ^® wires with extended irreversible strain limits.