Investigation of mechanical behavior of copper in Nb3Sn superconducting composite wire

The mechanical properties and the thermal residual stress distribution of copper in Nb3Sn/Cu composite superconductor were investigated in detail. The stabilizer copper was removed from the composite wire, and the stress-strain behavior of this wire was compared with that of the original composite wire. The subtraction yielded the stress-strain curves of the copper when the Bauschinger effect was taken into account. The tensile test of the composites from which about 30% and 60% of copper was removed suggested the existence of the distribution of the thermal residual stress in the stabilizer copper. When this factor was taken into account, the analytical stress-strain curve agreed well with the experimental stress-strain curve. Thus, the stress-stain behavior of each component was fully understood. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.