An alternative CICC design aimed at understanding critical performance issues in Nb3Sn conductors for ITER

Within the EFDA technology program, CRPP designed and prepared a short length of full size Nb3Sn developmental conductor to be tested in the SULTAN test facility. Nb3Sn strand with a higher specification and low Cu:non-Cu ratio was supplied by Outokumpu. Half of the produced wire length has been Cr-plated half was left bare. Subsequently, two Ti-jacketed cable-in-conduit conductors based on a braid as the first stage, have been manufactured by VNIIKP. After reaction heat treatment, the annular space of the conductor piece without coating was filled with solder. The measurements indicate a higher performance of the solder-filled conductor suggesting that an adequate mechanical support of the strands in the cable may avoid transverse load degradation.