Effects of Wax Impregnation on Contact Resistivity Between REBCO Tapes

Advances on no-insulation REBCO coil technology has made understanding and controlling contact resistivity increasingly important. Praffin (wax) impregnation is a process that has been used for improving mechanical stability of insulated and no-insulation REBCO coils. Wax impregnation is beneficial in both no-insulation coils and insulated coils with additional copper stabilizer or multiple conductors. In the latter scenario, contact resistance between conductor and additional stabilizer is also important. It is crucial to understand the effects of wax impregnation on contact resistivity (
R_ct
). We designed and built an apparatus to use short REBCO samples which simulates the behavior of
R_ct
in a pancake coil during the wax impregnation process.
R_ct
was measured at 77 K before and after the wax impregnation. In addition, a single pancake coil was wound to test the effect of wax impregnation. This coil simulates the NHMFL 32 T magnet Coil A in winding stresses.
R_ct
was measured at 77 and 4.2 K before and after wax impregnation. We found that wax impregnation does not significantly change contact resistivity. This means that wax impregnation can be used in coils without compromising the current sharing ability between turns. The experimental process and results are discussed.