Numerical Analysis on Performances of Critical Current for Rutherford Cable Made From HTS Quasi-Isotropic Strands

Abstract

2G high temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes are frequently cabled into strands that can be assembled as conductors in cables with various layouts and thus potentially employed in large-scale superconducting magnets with high magnetic fields and large transport currents. One option meeting the requirements for manufacturing high-current cables is the Rutherford cable configuration. This article proposes a flat Rutherford cable with a copper core made up of 12 quasi-isotropic strands. The critical current characteristics of the Rutherford cable are numerically analyzed at 77, 20, and 4.2 K by using the finite element method and a self-consistent model in self-field and applied magnetic fields with different magnitudes and orientations, respectively. Additionally, the simulated results of the Rutherford cable are compared with those of a directly stacked conductor. The results show that the proposed Rutherford cable can attain critical currents in the hundreds of kA range at 20 and 4.2 K in high fields. This Rutherford cable design is a potential and prospective solution for high-current superconducting cables in power transmissions and large-scale magnets with a high magnetic field.