Numerical investigation on transverse heat transfer properties in cross section of full size Nb3Sn CICC ITER conductor

The contact mechanical characteristics in the cross section of the Nb3Sn cable are sensitive to the cryogenic cooling and cyclic transverse electromagnetic loads, which may affect the cable’s performance. In this paper, based on a proposed discrete dynamic model (DEM), where the contact heat transfer among strands and the convective heat transfer in liquid helium are taken into account, the cooling process under two heat transfer mechanisms is performed. Simulation results show that the temperature variation of Poloidal Field Insert Sample (PFIS) cable with time agrees well with the existing experimental results, and the role of contact heat transfer cannot be neglected during cryogenic cooling. It is obtained from the further analysis that the effect of contact heat transfer becomes more prominent with the decrease of mass flow rate of liquid helium, which leads to the stress status within cable changed significantly. With the temperature boundary condition imposed on the cable radial direction, the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of cable can be obtained. It can be found that the ETC increases with increasing the transverse loads and is sensitive to the low temperature environment, while it is not affected by load cycles basically. These results may provide the guide for the design and application of the future CICC conductors.