Tests on the conductor for the European LCT-coil

For the European LCT coil a forced flow supercritical helium cooled conductor will be used. It consists of a flat cable with 23 rectangular strands soldered on a CrNi core and enclosed in vacuum tight stainless steel conduit. The conductor and its components were tested extensively to verify its calculated performance and to develop testing methods for quality control during the production phase. After a short review of conductor parameters we are concentrating in this paper on mechanical tests of conductor components, joints of these components (solderings, EB- and TIG weldments) and of the finished conductor. In a second part a test facility for an integral test of the conductor (e.g. critical current and stability under operational conditions) is described. In a short circuited circular loop with a length of about 2.8 m the transport current (10 - 20 kA) is induced by the inductive coupling with the background field of the Wendelstein VII solenoid (5 T in a bore of 89 cm). The major components of this facility, the background coil and the helium pump for the supercritical helium flow circuit were tested successfully. A first test loop was manufactured and is presently being installed.