Effect of Thermal Strain on the Mechanical Butt Joint of a Stacked HTS Cable With a Metal Jacket

A remountable high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet where parts can be mounted and demounted is proposed to allow a superconducting magnet for a fusion reactor to be assembled and repaired. A conceptual study of a mechanical butt joint for a stacked HTS cable with metal jacket was carried out. In this study, contact pressure distribution at the joint surface was evaluated by structural analysis to investigate the deformation of the joint region due to the joint force and the influence of the thermal strain on joint performance. Analytical results showed that thermal strain and Young´s modulus of the constituent material strongly affect the contact pressure distribution. In addition, combinations of parallel and perpendicular joint forces, and the procedure with which they are applied, have a strong impact on the realization of a remountable joint in a HTS cable.