Mechanical behavior and critical current density variation of the twisted stacked-tape slotted-core cable-in-conduit conductor under bending and axial tensile load

Abstract The second generation (2G) high-temperature superconducting (HTS) REBCO tape and the HTS cable made by the REBCO company are considered to be alternative materials for future superconducting magnet design due to their exceptional performance. The twisted stacked-tape slotted-core (TSSC) cable-in-conduit-conductor cable, which is one of the crucial layout structures in HTS cables, has been extensively studied by numerous research groups over the years. In this paper, a 3D finite element model of the TSSC HTS cable under bending and axial tensile loads is established using the bilinear isotropic hardening model in COMSOL commercial finite element software. The mechanical behavior of the TSSC cable under bending and axial tensile loads, as well as the evolution process of overall cable performance and critical current of individual tapes inside slots, are revealed by conducting mechanical analysis and using an empirical fitting formula between the critical current density of the 2G HTS tapes and axial strain. Furthermore, optimization engineering suggestions for its structure are provided, such as reducing the twist pitch, decreasing the tape width, increasing the number of tapes, reducing the slot width while avoiding direct contact between tapes and slot walls, increasing the number of slots, increasing diameter of diversion trench and inner diameter of helical core under predominant bending loads. In the case of axial tensile loads, the aforementioned suggestions are also applicable except for the inner and outer diameters of the helical core. The critical current performance can be enhanced by augmenting the outer diameter of the helical core in this case. However, it is almost unaffected by the inner diameter of the helical core.