Critical Current Measurements Under Transverse Pressure of a Nb3Sn Rutherford Cable Based on 1 mm RRP Wires

In order to achieve higher magnetic fields and/or larger magnet apertures, next generation accelerator magnets will be based on high-J
_c
Nb
₃
Sn Rutherford cables. For the HighLuminosity LHC project, CERN is manufacturing dipole and quadrupole magnets based on state-of-the-art high-J
_c
Nb
₃
Sn superconductor. Furthermore, a design study has been launched to develop 16 T Nb
₃
Sn dipole magnets in the framework of the Future Circular Collider (FCC). These magnets will require prestresses significantly larger than 100 MPa. In particular, the FCC 16 T dipoles are presently designed assuming a stress on the superconductor of up to 200 MPa. Because Nb
₃
Sn has extreme sensitivity to strain, these high values of stress are a significant challenge for the superconductor and the design of the magnets. In the framework of the European Circular Energy-Frontier Collider Study project (EuroCirCol), a conceptual design study for FCC, CERN has launched a campaign of critical current measurements of Nb
₃
Sn Rutherford cables under transverse loads up to 200 MPa. These measurements are carried out on 2-m-long samples in the FRESCA test station, where background magnetic fields up to 10 T can be applied. In this paper, we report and discuss the results obtained on 18-strand 10-mm-wide cable samples based on a 1-mm-diameter RRP wire.