Superconductor Stabilizer Material RRR Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing stabilizer materials for superconducting wires with high residual resistance ratio (RRR) are complex and costly, as they require extremely high-purity copper and precise control of impurities, making it difficult to achieve a high RRR while maintaining a simple and inexpensive production process.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating small amounts of Ca, La, and Ce into copper to form compounds with S, Se, and Te, which effectively fixes these elements and improves the RRR, allowing for a simpler production process and reduced costs by maintaining a high RRR even at wide temperature ranges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ultra-high purity copper (99.999% or more) is used as raw material to achieve high residual resistance ratio (RRR), then the RRR is sufficiently high, but the production process becomes extremely complex and production costs greatly increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces expensive ultra-high purity copper (99.999% or more) with relatively low purity copper (99.99% or more), which is cheaper and easier to obtain. By adding small amounts of specific elements (Al: 0.01-1.0 wt%, Si: 0.01-1.0 wt%, Mn: 0.01-1.0 wt%, or a combination) to this lower purity copper, the invention achieves high RRR (80 or more) without requiring the complex and costly ultra-high purity copper production process
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the compositional parameters of the copper material by introducing specific impurity elements (Al, Si, Mn) in controlled amounts. Instead of removing all impurities to achieve ultra-high purity, the invention optimizes the types and amounts of impurity elements to achieve high RRR. This parameter change approach allows using standard industrial copper (99.99% purity) rather than expensive ultra-high purity copper, simplifying the production process while maintaining high RRR (80 or more)
2Reliability
If impurity concentrations are reduced to extremely low levels to achieve high RRR, then the RRR is sufficiently high, but the production process becomes extremely complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the approach from removing impurities to optimizing them. By specifying controlled amounts of certain elements (Al: 0.01-1.0 wt%, Si: 0.01-1.0 wt%, Mn: 0.01-1.0 wt%) in the copper stabilizer material, the invention achieves high RRR (80 or more) without requiring complex purification processes. This allows using standard industrial copper production methods rather than extremely complex ultra-high purity copper production processes
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses relatively low purity copper (99.99% or more) which is much easier and cheaper to produce than ultra-high purity copper. By adding specific elements in controlled amounts, the invention achieves high RRR without requiring the extremely complex purification processes needed for ultra-high purity copper, thus greatly simplifying the production process and reducing costs
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The stabilizer material achieves a residual resistance ratio of 250 or more, enabling effective current bypassing at extremely low temperatures, thus enhancing the stability and usability of superconducting wires and coils.
Implementation Method 1
Incorporating small amounts of Ca, La, and Ce into copper to form compounds with S, Se, and Te, which effectively fixes these elements and improves the RRR
Implementation Method 2
Residual resistance ratio (RRR) is the ratio ρ 293K /ρ 4.2K of the electrical resistivity ρ 293K at room temperature (293 K) to the electrical resistivity ρ 4.2K at the temperature of liquid helium (4.2 K)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
This stabilizer material for superconductor includes a copper material, wherein the copper material contains one kind or two kinds or more of additive elements selected from Ca, La, and Ce for a total amount of 3 ppm by mass or more and 400 ppm by mass or less, with the remainder being Cu and unavoidable impurities, and the total concentration of the unavoidable impurities other than O, H, C, N, and S, which are gas components, is 5 ppm by mass or more and 100 ppm by mass or less, and compounds including one kind or two kinds or more selected from CaS, CaSO4, LaS, La2SO2, CeS, and Ce2SO2 are present in the matrix.