SuperPower News Release

January 26th, 2015 – Schenectady, New York – SuperPower Inc. announced today that it has established comprehensive capabilities for testing various types of mechanical/electromechanical properties of its 2G HTS wires. The purpose of having its own testing capabilities at SuperPower is to further assure the mechanical/electromechanical performance of its 2G HTS products and to make continuous improvement towards producing more robust superconducting wires.

The 2G HTS wires produced at SuperPower are being utilized for the development of a variety of electric and electromagnetic devices by customers around the world. The applications include high-field magnets, SMES, motors/generators, high current cables, fault current limiters, etc. During the fabrication, thermal cycling, and the operation of these devices, a 2G HTS wire is always under the effect of a combination of stresses that originate from mechanical, thermal, and/or magnetic sources. The superconducting property of a 2G HTS wire is affected in one way or another by the applied stresses/strains, depending on the types and magnitudes. Understanding the mechanical/electromechanical behaviors of 2G HTS wires is very important to the design, fabrication and operation of a HTS device. With its unique architecture and using Hastelloy as the substrate, SuperPower 2G HTS wires have been demonstrated to have superior mechanical properties that meet the harshest mechanical requirements from such applications like high-field magnets, Roebel cables and CORC cables. “The unique properties of SuperPower's 2G HTS conductor, such as its high mechanical strength and electrical performance, are key factors in the NHMFL's project to build the first 32 T all-superconducting magnet”, said Dr. Hubertus Weijers of National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), who is the project leader.

For many years, SuperPower has been collaborating with many other research institutes for the characterization of the mechanical/electromechanical performance of its 2G HTS wires and working continuously on establishing its own testing capabilities. SuperPower is also working closely with such organizations like IEC/TC90 to ensure the testing methods utilized comply with the applicable standards. Upon the completion of a recent internal project, SuperPower now has the capabilities of performing the mechanical/electromechanical tests under either the longitudinal or transverse tensile stress. The electromechanical tests are carried out at 77K in liquid nitrogen with the critical current measured under a stress. In addition to the anvil tensile test, pin-pull test and peel test are also used at SuperPower for studying the mechanical behaviors of the 2G HTS wires under a transverse tensile stress. The minimum double bending diameter of a wire is determined by a bending test in liquid nitrogen.

With the establishment of new testing capabilities, SuperPower will be able to provide more mechanical/electromechanical property data to its customers to support their applications. The testing results are also used internally for the optimization of its wire processing and to further improve the robustness of the products. Currently working on building set-ups for compressive testing and twist testing, the effort in establishing the mechanical/electromechanical testing capabilities at SuperPower will continue.