COLLOQUIUM: Industrialization of Nb3Sn conductor

Superconducting magnets are enabling tools for scientific research, and are also a vital component of our health care system.  Advances in magnet technology are strongly linked to advances in superconductor performance.  While particle accelerators for high energy physics and tokomaks for fusion are two prominent examples of research applications of superconductors, the demand for superconductors for these “big science” projects is neither steady nor certain.  As a result, it is often not a straight path to commercial success for new superconducting materials.  This presentation will be a review of the challenges to industrialization of superconductors, in the context of development of Nb₃Sn strands for HEP and ITER over the last 10 years.