The Contact Behavior of the CORC Wires Under Stretching Process

The Conductor on Round Core (CORC) wire coming under the category of High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) wires is the promising type used in next-generation magnet-based applications, such as fusion, particle accelerator, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, mechanical deformation due to cabling, winding, and operation of the magnets will degrade the performance of the HTS wires, which might cause severe problems in several aspects. The study of contact characteristics inside the superconducting wire is of considerable significance since they are essential parameters for the understanding of mechanical and electrical responses, indicators for optimizing the cable structure. It also contributes to the safe operation and feasibility of HTS magnets. In this paper, dynamic finite element simulations are applied to obtain the mechanical response of stretched CORC wires. The deformation and the contact stress of the inner tapes are presented. Engineering optimization is done by analyzing the results.