The effect of fast neutron irradiation on the superconducting properties of REBCO coated conductors with and without artificial pinning centers
Open accessAbstract
Superconductors are essential components of future fusion power plants. The magnet coils responsible for producing the field required for confining the fusion plasma are exposed to considerable neutron radiation. This makes irradiation studies necessary for understanding the radiation response of the superconductor. High temperature superconductors are promising candidates as magnet coil materials. YBCO and GdBCO tapes of several manufacturers were irradiated to fast neutron fluences of up to 3.9 × 10 22 m −2 in the research reactor at the Atominstitut. Low energy neutrons contribute to the fission reactor spectrum but not to the expected spectrum at the fusion magnets. Low energy neutrons have to be shielded in irradiation experiments to avoid their substantial effect on the superconducting properties of tapes containing gadolinium. The critical current ( I c ) of the tapes in this study was examined at fields of up to 15 T and down to a temperature of 30 K. I c first increases upon irradiation and reaches a maximum at a certain fluence, which depends highly on temperature, being highest at low temperature. I c declines at high fluences and eventually degrades with respect to its initial value. Tapes with artificial pinning centers (APCs) degrade at lower fluences than tapes without them. The n -values decrease in all types of tapes after irradiation even when the critical currents are increased. The field dependence of the volume pinning force differs in pristine tapes with and without APCs but shows the same behavior after irradiation.
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The relevant literature has primarily focused on the electrical properties of magnet materials, leaving a notable gap in the understanding of thermo-mechanical property evolution under FPP operating conditions.
“The relevant literature has primarily focused on the electrical properties of magnet materials [3, 4, 5], leaving a notable gap in the understanding of thermo-mechanical property evolution under FPP operating conditions.”
From A facility for thermo-mechanical characterization of fusion magnet materials during cryogenic ion irradiation (2025) · cites this paper as [5]
The relevant literature has primarily focused on the electrical properties of magnet materials, leaving a notable gap in understanding thermo-mechanical property evolution under fusion power plant operating conditions.
“The relevant literature has primarily focused on the electrical properties of magnet materials [3, 4, 5], leaving a notable gap in the understanding of thermo-mechanical property evolution under FPP operating conditions.”
From A facility for thermo-mechanical characterization of fusion magnet materials during cryogenic ion irradiation (2025) · cites this paper as [5]
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References 26 · Cited by 138
Research works printed but not linked: 25
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- Authors
- Fischer, D. X., Prokopec, R., Emhofer, J., & Eisterer, M.
- Affiliations
- TU Wien (AT)
- Corresponding author
- Fischer, D X
- Venue
- Superconductor Science and Technology
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Published
- 2018-03-07
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 044006
- ISSN
- 0953-2048 (ISSN-L)
- 1361-6668
- OpenAlex
- W2793528804
- Cited by
- 138
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 3.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Superconductor Science and Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- reposiTUm (TU Wien) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- H2020 Euratom (633053)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Superconducting Materials and Applications
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Fusion materials and technologies
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Condensed Matter Physics › Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism
- Keywords
- REBCO coated conductors, fast neutron irradiation, radiation damage, critical current degradation, artificial pinning centers, YBCO tapes, neutron fluence, n-value, volume pinning force, high-temperature superconductors
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