Pulsed, Inductively Generated, Streaming Plasma Ion Source for Heavy Ion Fusion Linacs

65168 The vast majority of superconducting magnets are constructed from Nb-47Ti because of its excellent mechanical and electrical characteristics and low cost. Further Jc improvements in the mid-to-high-field region would have benefits for quadrapole magnets and ¿low field¿ graded windings in high field dipoles. Such Jc increases would be possible with artificial pinning centers (APC), provided that the proximit effect reduction in Hc2 could be minimized or eliminated. This project will explore two new APC designs for high field applications. In Phase I, small scale billets with rod based APC will be processed using two new pin designs. The first design, will incorporate TiCu intermetallic pins into the NbTi superconducting matrix. The second design, will include a Ni core surrounded by a CuTi intermetallic barrier. Superconducting property measurements will be performed to assess the flux pinning, and nanostructural analyses will be performed to evaluate pin structure and uniformity. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: High performance, low cost, multifilament NbTi wires would expand their technological usefulness to more efficient economic solutions in high field magnet designs. The increased Jc should reduce overall winding volumes and costs so as to allow the less expensive NbTi winding technology to be utilized.