Laboratory receives award for work in high temperature superconducting wire technology

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (00-140)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Oct. 25, 2000 -- The Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory has received a Collaboration Success Award for its efforts in advancing high temperature superconducting wire technology.

The award was given to Los Alamos from the Council for Chemical Research. Los Alamos is part of the Wire Development Group, a collaboration of DOE laboratories, the University of Wisconsin and American Superconductor, all of which received the award, said Dean Peterson, director of Los Alamos’ Superconductivity Technology Center in the Material Sciences Division.

The Laboratory received a plaque and poster for its contribution to the effort during a recognition ceremony last month.

"The Laboratory is honored to receive this recognition from the Council for Chemical Research and excited about playing a vital role in the continued advancement of high temperature superconducting wire," said Peterson. "The award also validates the enormous, revolutionary potential of high temperature superconducting wire."

"The Wire Development Group played a critical role in establishing the materials science foundation for first-generation high temperature superconducting wire technology," said Bart Riley, senior technical manager at American Superconductor.

High-temperature superconducting wires promise tremendous economic and energy-saving benefits, owing to their high current carrying capacity and lack of electrical resistance when cooled to the temperature of liquid nitrogen.

Peterson said high-temperature superconducting materials are ceramics, which are inherently brittle, and present significant challenges in the development of usable, durable wires for electrical applications. Because conventional ceramic processing methods cannot be used, a powder-in-tube fabrication technique was developed. In this process, a so-called precursor powder is synthesized and packed into a silver or silver alloy tube. A series of deformation steps, including wire drawing, then transforms the tube into a length of wire.

Lengths of individual wires, comprising a core of ceramic powder inside a silver sheath, are then bundled together inside a larger silver tube. The process of deformation is repeated to form a wire — many fine filaments of ceramic material running the length of the wire — inside a matrix of metal. In the final stage of wire fabrication, several heat treatments cause the ingredients of the precursor powder to chemically react, thereby converting the powder into filaments of high-temperature superconducting material. The resulting composite wire has the flexibility and durability needed for use in applications, said Peterson.

Peterson said Los Alamos researchers in the Wire Development Group sought to understand basic elements of the powder and deformation processes, characterized wire properties and important nanoscale microstructural and compositional characteristics.

Argonne and Oak Ridge national laboratories also received the award with Los Alamos.

American Superconductor is constructing a 355,000-square-foot wire manufacturing facility in Deven, Mass. dedicated solely to the manufacturing of high temperature superconductor wire. American Superconductor hopes to begin production in January 2002.

The Council for Chemical Research is based in Washington, D.C., with membership representing industry, academia, and government. The council was formed in 1979 to promote cooperation in basic research and encourage high quality education in the chemical sciences and engineering. The mission of the CCR is to enhance research in chemistry-based sciences, engineering, and technology that benefits society and the national well-being, through productive interactions among industrial, academic, and governmental research sectors.

CCR's membership represents most of the United States’ chemical research enterprise, currently comprising 152 academic institutions, 36 industrial corporations and independent laboratories, and 12 government laboratories with a combined research and development budget of more than $7 billion.

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