50T pulsed field coils using multi-composite wire

The multi-composite (MC) wire is a new concept in the pursuit of obtaining an ideal conductor for high-performance pulsed magnets. Prototype MC wires were made with an ultimate tensile strength of 1.2 and 1.7 GPa and a conductivity of 40% IACS at 300 K. With the 1.2 GPa wire, a series of three coils with 26 mm bore were wound that performed well above expectation. Using the 1.7 GPa wire, a coil was designed and manufactured with similar bore (18 mm) and pulse duration as our standard 50+ T user coils with internal reinforcement. This coil generated 53 T before failure, even without internal stress optimization; there is still much room for improvement. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.