Parametric study of the stability margin of cable-in-conduit superconductors: Theory

Recently, Lue, Miller, and Dresner reported that the stability margin of cable-in-conduit superconductors is multivalued for certain combinations of transport current, ambient helium pressure, and externally imposed helium flow. There is a limiting transport current below which the stability margin is single-valued and equal to the upper stability margin. The theory of ref. 1 is used here to determine the scaling of the limiting transport current with critical temperature, ambient helium temperature, resistivity of copper, length of the heated zone, duration of the heat pulse, hydraulic diameter of the helium-filled part of the cable, volume fraction of copper in the metal, and volume fraction of metal in the cable. Combined with experimental data, the scaling relation provides a sound basis for design.