The differences in thermal contraction of the composite materials in a cable in conduit conductor (CICC) for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in combination with electromagnetic charging, cause axial, transverse contact and bending strains in the Nb 3 Sn filaments. These local loads cause distributed strain alterations, reducing the superconducting transport properties. The sensitivity of ITER strands to different strain loads is experimentally explored with dedicated probes. The starting point of the characterization is measurement of the critical current under axial compressive and tensile strain, determining the strain sensitivity and the irreversibility limit corresponding to the initiation of cracks in the Nb 3 Sn filaments for axial strain. The influence of spatial periodic bending and contact load is evaluated by using a wavelength of 5 mm. The strand axial tensile stress-strain characteristic is measured for comparison of the axial stiffness of the strands. Cyclic loading is applied for transverse loads following the evolution of the critical current, n-value and deformation. This involves a component representing a permanent (plastic) change and as well as a factor revealing reversible (elastic) behavior as a function of the applied load.The experimental results enable discrimination in performance reduction per specific load type and per strand type, which is in general different for each manufacturer involved. Metallographic filament fracture studies are compared to electromagnetic and mechanical load test results. A detailed multifilament strand model is applied to analyze the quantitative impact of strain sensitivity, intrastrand resistances and filament crack density on the performance reduction of strands and full-size ITER CICCs. Although a full-size conductor test is used for qualification of a strand manufacturer, the results presented here are part of the ITER strand verification program. In this paper, we present an overview of the results and comparisons.

The performance of the toroidal field (TF) magnet conductors for the ITER machine are qualified by a short full-size sample (4 m) current sharing temperature (Tcs) test in the SULTAN facility at CRPP in Villigen, Switzerland, using the operating current of 68 kA and the design peak field of 11.8 T. Several samples, including at least one from each of the six ITER Domestic Agencies participating in TF conductor fabrication (China, European Union, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States), have been qualified by the ITER Organization after achieving Tcs values of 6.0–6.9 K, after 700–1000 electromagnetic cycles. These Tcs values exceed the ITER specification and enabled the industrial production of these long-lead items for the ITER tokamak to begin in each Domestic Agency. Some of these samples did not pass the qualification test. In this paper, we summarize the performance of the qualified samples, analyze the effect of strand performance on conductor performance, and discuss the details of the test results.

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The ITER magnet system uses cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) technology with individual strands twisted in several stages resulting in a rope-type cable, which is inserted into a stainless steel conduit. The combination of high current (up to 68 kA) and background magnetic field (up to 13 T) results in large transverse Lorentz forces exerted on the conductors during magnet system operation. The high transverse forces, accompanied with the cyclic nature of the load, have a strong influence on the conductor properties. The Twente Cryogenic Cable Press is used to simulate the effect of the Lorentz forces on a conductor comparable to the ITER magnet operating conditions. An overview is presented of the AC coupling and hysteresis loss, mechanical deformation characteristics and inter-strand contact resistance measurement results obtained on full-size ITER CICCs measured in the Twente Cryogenic Cable Press. The aim of this work is to characterize conductors' electromagnetic and mechanical properties during cycling of the load up to 30 000 cycles. The evolution of the magnetization (AC coupling loss time constant nτ), mechanical properties and inter-strand resistance R c between selected strands is presented along with loading history. The R c between first triplet strands is also measured as a function of applied load. It is shown that transverse load cycling has a strong influence on the CICC properties. An overview of the results for eight toroidal field conductors, two central solenoid conductors, three poloidal field conductors of different types (PF1&6, PF4, PF5), one main bus-bar and one correction coil conductor is presented.

The overall 30 year Nb 3 Sn conductor program for ITER provides an unusual opportunity to look at the issues created by the application of novel Nb 3 Sn technology on a large scale. ITER design criteria have evolved to make use of the features of the industrialized material, exploiting advantages as well as managing the disadvantages. There are lessons from the successes and failures to be learned for the future application of very high current Nb 3 Sn strands in fusion and high energy physics. The behaviour of Nb 3 Sn strands in the large compound ITER conductors is still producing surprises after 25 years of development, industrial production and testing, with the Nb 3 Sn strain sensitivity and brittleness producing many more subtle design impacts than originally foreseen. The results now obtained at the end of the ITER production suggest that, as a novelty for Nb 3 Sn, there are options for conditioning the strands in the ITER conductors that can be applied during commissioning and which could reduce the impact of brittleness by as much as one third.

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