Extrudable NbTi Superconductor with Ferromagnetic Pins for Undulator Magnets

The development of an extrudable APC NbTi superconductor with Ni artificial pinning centers by the proposed approach in the Phase I and Phase II program is anticipated to have a significant impact on cost and performance in applications for undulator magnets. The overall technical approach for the Phase I/Phase II project will be to develop and demonstrate an extrudable NbTi superconductor with ferromagnetic pins as undulators. The critical aspects of the conductor design will include optimizing pin size and distribution in order to maximize the bulk pinning force of the conductor. Utilizing a hot extrusion process will help indicate commercial scale up issues and market potential for artificial pinning center (APC) technology. In the Phase I work, we successfully fabricated APC wire with nickel pins approaching 10 nanometers. Moreover, the (Jc) performance of the APC wire was 10,822 Amp/mm2 at 2 Tesla. In the Phase II research and development program, the primary technical objective will be two fold, first to continue to improve the APC flux pinning and Jc performance at the applied field of 1 to 3 Tesla regime by incorporating nickel flux pinning centers. The second primary objective will be to demonstrate a scale-up process that includes two hot extrusions of 152 mm od billets. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: While undulator magnets are important for future photon sources, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnets have the nearest term commercial potential. The current NMR market includes spectrometers up to operating frequencies of 800 MHz. Any additional improvements in NbTi superconductors which are included in the outer sections of the NMR magnets could impact the cost of these high end spectrometers. The total NMR market is on the order of a quarter to a half billion dollars and growing. Such systems require magnets generating fields up to 18T range. NMR spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique for mapping molecular structures and learning how molecules function and relate to each other. This is important for many applications that have benefits to the public including discovering new drugs, evaluating new synthetic materials, and exploring the realm of the proteomics. Nb-47Ti, Superconductor, Hot Extrusion, Artificial Pinning Centers, Ferromagnet. A new economical NbTi superconductor with advanced performance will be developed for undulator magnets, MRI, and NMR instruments for the general benefit of the public.