Results of the Fermilab wire production program

In examining the various schedules of wire drawing and heat treating, the Critchlow type of schedule provided the highest and most uniform data from billet to billet. It consists of a long anneal at 400 +- 20/sup 0/C at a cold work point giving about 99 percent reduction in area from the extrusion size. Several quick copper anneals at 300/sup 0/C may be interspersed to aid in fabrication. A final anneal at finished size both peaks up the resistivity ratio of the copper as well as the critical current of the alloy by moving dislocations to subcell walls. Using this method, critical currents of 1.7 x 10/sup 5/ A/cm/sup 2/ could be maintained in all billets. The copper cladding and sinking method looks promising and should save production costs. In spite of this, it was important to attain good packing density in the billets to assure uniform filament pattern and reduce breakage in wire drawing. Overall, a procedure was found for fabricating wire in large production lots that would be acceptable for constructing dipole magnets. It is felt that this method could be peaked up with time.