Calculation model of AC loss for CICC (cable-in-conduit conductor) based on strain

The CICC (cable-in-conduit conductor) in ITER (International Thermal-nuclear Experimental Reactor) will run in high-current, fast transient magnet field and complex environment. In response to the impact of magnet fields above 10 T, the Nb3Sn conductor has been introduced. However, the AC (alternating current) loss mechanism of Nb3Sn conductor on strain has not been explored. So, it is necessary to study the AC loss calculation method with transient electromagnetic field and wide range of strain, the coupling current in complex field and current signal of field is simplified to the spectrum effects of coil excitation, and calculation technology of AC loss, which contains the frequency, magnet field, coil characteristics and other parameters, is constructed to meet the discrete Fourier transform (DFT). By comparative analysis of simulation, it is found that the AC loss calculation of the conductor with spectrum algorithm is closer to the actual project value than the traditional algorithm. For the rapid excitation, in particular plasma discharge and burst, spectrum algorithm and the traditional algorithm are consistent. For the relative error calculation of hysteresis loss and coupling loss, it is found that the coupling loss is cumulative linearly, where the hysteresis loss is not so. As a function of the amplitude, frequency and phase angle, the relative error is less than 40%. The results showed that the method of Fourier restructuring is satisfactory.