Evaluation of Effective Strain and $n$-Value of ITER TF Conductor Samples

The acceptance tests of the Cable in Conduit Conductors for the Toroidal Field coils of the ITER magnet system are being performed at the SULTAN facility in Villigen, Switzerland. The main physical quantity measured in these tests is the current sharing temperature,
Tcs
. In
Tcs
measurements, the
E
-
T
characteristic curve of the conductor is traced. This curve is utilized here to evaluate the equivalent
n
-index and the effective strain of the superconducting Nb
₃
Sn cable, under the simplifying assumptions of a uniform strain, current density and temperature distribution in the cable cross section. The variations of
n
-index and effective strain with mechanical cycling and their sensitivity to the applied transverse load and to the warm up-cooldown process are presented for various conductor samples tested recently.