Characterization of Alloys with Potential for Application in Cable-in-Conduit Conductors for High-Field Superconducting Magnets

摘要

Since the introduction of the cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) concept, a variety of alloys have been proposed for fabricating the jacket. The jacket provides primary containment of the supercritical helium coolant and is typically also the primary structural component for the magnet. These functions create requirements for strength, toughness, weldability, and fabricability in tubular form. When the CICC uses Nb3Sn, there are additional requirements to accommodate the manufacturing and heat-treatment processes for the superconductor as well as its strain-sensitive performance during operation. Both of the present favorite jacket alloys, Incoloy 908 and modified (ultra-low carbon) 316LN, have both demonstrated acceptable functionality as well as a few undesirable features. In this paper, we present data from cryogenic mechanical tests on a group of heat-resistant, high-strength superalloys that appear to offer equal or better mechanical performance (e.g. strength, toughness, and modulus) while mitigating the undesirable aspects (e.g. SAGBO in the case of I908 and thermal-expansion mismatch with Nb_3Sn in the case of 316LN). Data are presented for each alloy in the as-received and aged conditions. These alloys are presently being considered as candidates for use in the next-generation hybrid magnet for the NHMFL but may also be of interest to the fusion and energy storage communities.