A monolithic artificial pinning center Nb-Ti conductor for high current applications

Supercon's artificial pinning center (APC) process has been used to produce a large, aspected Nb-Ti conductor for a high current application. The 1.0 mm by 4.05 mm conductor was manufactured for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for use in a prototype quadrupole magnet for a heavy ion driver. The size of the conductor made it suitable as a replacement for Rutherford-type cable. A monolithic conductor of this type cannot be fabricated economically by conventional means due to a lack of available strain space for the necessary thermo-mechanical treatments. Fabrication of the conductor is described and performance characteristics are given.