Low-resistance joint development for segment-fabrication of high-temperature superconducting fusion magnets

Abstract

Two designs have been proposed for segment-fabrication of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) helical coils in the FFHR-d1 helical fusion reactor, joint-winding of the HTS coils wound by connecting conductor segments, and the "remountable" HTS magnet (here "remountable" means being able to mount and demount repeatedly) assembled from coil segments with demountable joints. A bridge-type mechanical lap joint and mechanical edge joint are planned to be applied to those two designs, respectively. This paper presents the progress in electrical and mechanical performances of the mechanical joints of HTS conductors and methods to evaluate their quality for segment-fabrication of HTS helical coils. R&D of joint performance has progressed during this decade and it shows acceptable performance for the HTS helical coils. The contact-probing current transfer length (CTL) method and X-ray computer tomography (CT) scanning are promising for quality assessment of the joints and HTS tapes.