Superconductors play a crucial role in the advancement of high-field electromagnets. Unfortunately, their performance can be compromised by thermomagnetic instabilities, wherein the interplay of rapid magnetic and slow heat diffusion can result in catastrophic flux jumps, eventually leading to irreversible damage. This issue has long plagued high-Jc Nb3Sn wires at the core of high-field magnets. In this study, we introduce a large-scale GPU-optimized algorithm aimed at tackling the complex intertwined effects of electromagnetism, heating, and strain acting concomitantly during the quenching process of superconducting coils. We validate our model by conducting comparisons with magnetization measurements obtained from short multifilamentary Nb3Sn wires and further experimental tests conducted on solenoid coils while subject to ramping transport currents. Furthermore, leveraging our developed numerical algorithm, we unveil the dynamic propagation mechanisms underlying thermomagnetic instabilities (including flux jumps and quenches) within the coils. Remarkably, our findings reveal that the velocity field of flux jumps and quenches within the coil is correlated with the cumulated Joule heating over a time interval rather than solely being dependent on instantaneous Joule heating power or maximum temperature. These insights have the potential to optimize the design of next-generation superconducting magnets, thereby directly influencing a wide array of technologically relevant and multidisciplinary applications.
1 February 2022 in Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications
We construct a visible instrument to study the mechanical-electro behaviors of high temperature superconducting tape as a function of magnetic field, strain, and temperature. This apparatus is directly cooled by a commercial Gifford-McMahon cryocooler. The minimum temperature of sample can be 8.75 K. A proportion integration differentiation temperature control is used, which is capable of producing continuous variation of specimen temperature from 8.75 K to 300 K with an optional temperature sweep rate. We use an external loading device to stretch the superconducting tape quasi-statically with the maximum tension strain of 20%. A superconducting magnet manufactured by the NbTi strand is applied to provide magnetic field up to 5 T with a homogeneous range of 110 mm. The maximum fluctuation of the magnetic field is less than 1%. We design a kind of superconducting lead composed of YBa2Cu3O7-x coated conductor and beryllium copper alloy (BeCu) to transfer DC to the superconducting sample with the maximum value of 600 A. Most notably, this apparatus allows in situ observation of the electromagnetic property of superconducting tape using the classical magnetic-optical imaging.
Over the years, rapidly rising interest in the mechanical properties of various materials at low temperatures has been simulated because of the growing cryogenic applications in modern engineering fields of space technology, environmental engineering, and superconductivity engineering. Realizing in situ measurement of the internal strain and the full-field strain and the temperature distribution of related materials in a cryogenic loading environment is a significant requirement for safety assessment and related research of some new large science facility projects. Here, we present a novel cryogenic load frame, which is suitable for neutron scattering measurements of internal stress at the temperature range of 6–300 K. The loading capacity is 2500 N, and the slowest loading speed is 0.001 mm/s. By replacing the vacuum chamber sealing plate with a K9 glass window, the in situ digital image correlation strain measurement can be realized. Furthermore, fluorescence thermometry has also been investigated during a heating and cooling process without deformation. Using the present design, some typical results of the 316LN stainless steel and the YBCO tape at low temperatures were introduced.
9 June 2022 in Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications