Finite element modeling of the powder-in- tube process for manufacture of BSCCO-2212 superconducting wires

Abstract

High-temperature superconductors have recently attracted a great deal of attention owing to their potential use in a variety of applications including power generators, superconducting magnets for mine sweepers or ship propulsion motors, and magnetic levitation transportation systems. The powder-in-tube (PIT) process has emerged as one of the most promising and economically feasible techniques to produce long lengths high-T_c oxide based superconducting wires. The PIT method involves multi-pass wire drawing followed by rolling and heat treatment. This work focuses on the development of finite element models to simulate the PIT drawing process for fabrication of silver sheathed Bi-2212 superconducting wires. The numerical models were used to predict the density of the oxide powder, the wire drawing forces, and the silver-oxide ratio during drawing. A cap-type pressure dependent constitutive equation was implemented in the model to simulate the powder behavior. The model incorporated experimentally obtained material data for the silver and powder. Data from wire drawing experiments were used to verify model predictions.