Low Cost Multifilament Composite Process

40818 November 13, 1996 American Superconductor Corporation Commercialization of high temperature superconductors (HTS) conductors requires increases in overall current density (Je) and reductions in cost. The process steps involve shaping and cutting monofilament material, rebundling it into a multifilament array, and processing the multifilament to an intermediate wire size. These steps are the largest labor and capital equipment intensive part of the composite conductor processing, and also result in significant raw material yield loss. This project will develop an alternative continuous multifilament process which replaces all of the conventional operations between the monofilament coil and multifilament coil stages. The mechanical, transport, and microstructural properties of the composites will be characterized to establish a benchmark for multifilament HTS composites. Phase II will demonstrate a commercial high performance, low cost HTS composite process. Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee: This new process has the potential to greatly reduce the capital and labor required for multifilament processing and significantly reduces cost. Application spin-offs of this effort extend to all HTS applications requiring any number of filaments in a multifilament composite.