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Develop Technology to Produce Long Lengths of Nb3Al Superconductor Wire--INNOVARE, Inc., 7277 Park Drive, Bath, PA 18014-8854; 610-837-8830
Dr. Alfred R. Austen, Principal Investigator
Dr. Alfred R. Austen, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-98ER82598
Amount: $510,000
Niobium aluminide superconductor wires are used in magnets for high energy physics and fusion research. The barrier to making the required long lengths of this wire is breakage during the final wire drawing reduction of the niobium-aluminum composite precursor wire. This project will develop new hydrostatic extrusion technology to supplement wire drawing for the final 5 to 1 diameter reduction process for the composite wire. Phase 1 demonstrated that after the initial wire drawing reduction limit was reached, this intermediate size wire could be reduced to final size with the aid of hydrostatic extrusion. The 19 filament Nb-A1 composite could be wound into a coil with a diameter as small as 11 times the wire diameter and extruded into a product with sufficiently enhanced ductility to allow further drawing to final size. Phase II will establish a capability to produce up to 1 Km long Nb-A1 composite wire of 0.8 mm diameter in lengths up to 1 km, using the technique of winding relatively large diameter composite wire into densely packed coils and then reducing the composite wire diameter by hydrostatic extrusion. Wire conditioning, coiling, and handling equipment will be designed, fabricated, and operated.
Commercial Applications and other Benefits as describe by the awardee: Long lengths of Nb3 A1 wire should provide the high energy physics (HEP) community with a conductor ideal for making the next generation of more reliable high field dipole magnets in the 15T-20T field range. Also, for the HEP and fusion communities, Nb3 A1 superconductor would be very desirable as an insert coil material for a small Nb3 Sn magnet to raise the overall field.