Transversal Thermal Conductivity of HTS Tapes: Analytical Method vs Measurements

Design of ReBCO HTS magnets requires reliable data about the tape and insulation thermal conductivities. Material properties represent one of the largest uncertainties when simulating the HTS magnet thermal behavior during magnet cooling, operation, and possible quench scenarios. In this study, we aimed to measure transversal thermal conductivity of insulated and non-insulated HTS tape stacks. Measurements were done in the vacuum of a conduction cooled cryostat. This allows near adiabatic boundary conditions. The measurement results were compared with an analytical model based on thermal conductivities from literature sources. It is noteworthy that the uncertainties associated with the tape material layer thicknesses already constitute a major uncertainty in the magnet analysis. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges, lessons learned and possible future improvements in the measurement methodology.