Mechanical Material Characterization and Finite Element Modeling of Unreacted $\hbox {Nb}_{3}\hbox {Sn}$ PIT Wires Under Transverse Pressure

During fabrication of a Rutherford cable, a superconducting strand experiences plastic deformation. In order to study the strand sensitivity to this deformation, it is common practice in the superconducting community to roll single strands. In this paper, we report on a 2-D Finite Element Model that has been developed at CERN to describe the deformation behavior of unreacted powder-in-tube strand during rolling. The material properties used in the model are based on the strain-stress measurements promoted by CERN to characterize the mechanical properties of the strand constituents. The results of these strain-stress measurements are presented together with the FEM study on how the strand layout (copper to noncopper ratio, copper distribution and hardness, subelement shape, etc) affects the performance of rolled conductors.