Earticle

From the viewpoint of high field application, the mechanical and critical current properties of recently developed REBa2Cu3Oy (RE123, RE: rare-earth) coated conductors are summarized. In addition, effective flux pinning mechanisms in RE123 are also introduced. As one of the examples for high field application, the upgrading of the 18 T cryogen-free superconducting magnet is shown. The large anisotropy of Jc is a problem at low temperature and high magnetic field. The nanorod is considered as the useful methods to improve the anisotropy of Jc, although its efficiency becomes small at low temperature.

We have fabricated the superconducting MgB2/carbon fiber by physical vapor deposition method. Mg (Magnesium) and B (Boron) were simultaneously deposited on the carbon fiber using the RF-sputtering and thermal evaporation, respectively. To ensure the relatively high vapor pressure of Mg at the growth region and the subsequent phase stability of MgB2 at the deposition temperature, inverted funnel-like guide made of Mg-foil was employed while one side of the guide were open for the sputtered B flux. Mg vapor pressure should be controlled precisely to secure the complete reaction. The MgB2/carbon fiber showed a uniformly deposited thin layer with dense and well-formed grains. The MgB2/carbon fibers in this study showed Tc ~37.5K, Jc ~ 2×104 A/cm2 in the 20K, 0T.

For the operation of high temperature superconducting (HTS) power equipments, it is necessary to develop insulating materials and high voltage (HV) insulation technology at cryogenic temperature of bushing. In this paper, the surface flashover characteristics of various insulating materials in LN2 are studied. These results are studied at both AC and impulse voltage under a non-uniform field. The negative impulse breakdown voltage of GFRP is slightly higher than the positive impulse breakdown voltage. The use of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon) as insulation body for HTS bushing should be much desirable. Especially, GFRP is excellent material not only surface flashover characteristics but also mechanical characteristics at cryogenic temperature. The surface flashover is most serious problem for the shed design in LN2 and operation of superconducting equipment.

The evaluation of the electromechanical properties of HTS CC tapes is one of the foremost procedures to be done to ensure the applicability of superconducting wires to electric devices. A precise measurement of the stress and strain is important in deriving the mechanical properties under operating environment. Up to now, there is no standard test method yet for the electromechanical property evaluation of HTS tapes under self field and external magnetic field although there are already reports on the different devices used to evaluate these properties. Strain can be measured by adopting a strain gauge or a high resolution double extensometer. In this study, strain effect on Ic in HTS CC tapes under magnetic fields was evaluated. Comparison of advantages and setback of strain measuring devices were discussed. In addition, a dual strain measurement system using both the SG and extensometer may be practical to lessen the burden in case one of the measuring devices does not work well.

In this work, the yttrium oxide(Y2O3) thin films as the buffer layer were prepared by the simple solution coating and reel-to-reel process on an unpolished metal tape substrate. The Y2O3 thin films were successfully synthesized by the hydrolysis of yttrium acetate. We have studied the improvement of surface roughness with the concentration of solution(0.1 M, 0.4 M, M) and the number of coatings. The planarization by solution coating process is simple in comparison with the existing polishing process, and it is eco-friendly, and has the benefits of low cost process. The thickness of Y2O3 films was increased with the Y2O3 concentration in the solution, and the surface became smoother with the number of coating cycles. Using this process, we have achieved 1.2 nm RMS roughness from a starting roughness of over 31 nm on 25 μm2 area.

A single-coat YBa2Cu3O7- (YBCO) film of high critical currents (Ic) could be successfully fabricated by optimizing the viscosity of the coating solution in the metal-organic deposition (MOD) process. From a Ba-deficient coating solution (Y: Ba: Cu = 1: 1.5: 3) having the viscosity of 212 mPasec, 0.9 m-thick single coat YBCO film with the Ic value of 289 A/cm-width (Jc = 3.2 MA/cm2) at 77 K was achievable on the SrTiO3 (STO) substrate, which was superior to that of our previous report for 0.8 m-thick single coat YBCO film from a stoichiometric coating solution (Y: Ba: Cu = 1: 2: 3) on the LaAlO3 (LAO) substrate. This result might be attributed to denser and more homogeneous microstrcuture in the case of the YBCO film from the Ba-deficient coating solution.

In a High temperature superconducting (HTS) tape with high aspect ratio, the magnetic field applied to the HTS tape can be different considerably within the HTS tape. The current distribution in the HTS tape is generally non-uniform because the current distribution is strongly dependent on the applied magnetic field. Non-uniform current distribution in a HTS tape has not been properly considered when the critical current has been estimated. This paper shows the calculation of critical current of a HTS magnet consisting of pancake windings. Non-uniform distribution of current in the HTS tape is considered during the calculation of the critical current. Results of calculation show the current concentrated in the middle part of the HTS tape which is used for one pancake winding.

This paper describes experimental study and performance improvement of 2 stage Gifford-McMahon (G-M) type pulse tube cryocooler for cryopump. The objective of this study is to improve the efficiency of 2 stage pulse tube cryocooler for substituting 2 stage G-M cryocooler used in cryopump. The target cooling capacities are 5 W at 20 K and 35 W at 80 K for the 1st and the 2nd stage, respectively. These values are good cooling capacities for vacuum level in medium size ICP 200 cryopump. Design of the 2 stage pulse tube cryocooler is conducted by FZKPTR(Forschungs Zentrum Karlsruhe Pulse Tube Refrigerator) program. In order to improve the performance of 2 stage pulse tube cryocooler, U-type pulse tube cryocooler is fabricated and connecting tubes are minimized for reducing dead volumes and pressure losses. Also, to get larger capacities, orifice valves and double inlet valves are optimized and the compressor of 6 kW is used. On the latest unit, the lowest temperatures of 2 stage pulse tube cryocooler are 42 K (1st stage) and 8.3 K (2nd stage) and the cooling capacities are 40 W at 82.9 K (1st stage) and 10 W at 20.5 K (2nd stage) with 6.0 kW of compressor input power. This pulse tube cryocooler is suited for commercial medium size cryopump. In performance test of cryopump with 2 stage pulse tube cryocooler, pumping speed for gaseous nitrogen is 4,300 L/s and the ultimate vacuum pressure is 7.5  10-10 mbar.