Progress in Commercialization of Cable-in-Tube Approach to Manufacturing of Internal-Tin Nb3Sn Wires

With funding provided by US Department of Energy SSI has been able to reach significant milestones in manufacturing of Nb₃Sn wires by the innovative cable-in-tube method. Development of wires for consideration for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project has reached the stage where single billets produce single piece-lengths of wire without any breaks. Wires in the range of 1-1.5 km have been produced. An early stage sample wire produced by the CIT approach has shown a non-copper J_c of 940 A /mm² at 12 T and 4.2 K combined with plusmn3 T hysteresis loss of 560 mJ/cc. Another wire designed and produced for High Energy Physics applications has shown a non-copper J_c of more than 2200 A/mm². These results and the research to achieve them are described in this article.