Coupled Thermal-Hydraulic/Electromagnetic Analysis and Interpretation of the Test Results of the ITER TFPRO2 OST1 Conductor

The THELMA code is used to study the coupled thermal-hydraulic electro-magnetic problem of the current and temperature distribution inside the TFPRO2 Nb₃Sn SULTAN sample, which was tested in 2007. The code computes self-consistent voltage and temperature values both on the jacket, where they are measured, and inside the cable, where they are more directly representative of the conductor performance. The measured temperature gradients, related to non-uniform Joule heating at the joint and in the high-field region, as well as to non uniform current distribution, are reasonably well reproduced by the model, together with the voltage-current characteristics.