Low cost drilled billet production method for Cu-Nb composite wire

The primary requirements of conductor wires used for pulsed magnets are hig h strength and high electrical conductivity. There are several methods avai lable to produce these wires, albeit expensive. This paper presents a preli minary result of a manufacturing method, which incorporates the conventiona l drilled-billet technique. The project can be classified into two stages. In the first stage, a processing method was developed to optimize the stren gth of the primary Cu-Nb/Ti rods, which were used as inserts in drilled Cu billets. An assembly of the Cu billets and the primary Cu-Nb/Ti rods was ma de, and this was subsequently deformed by swaging, avoiding an extrusion pr ocess. The microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivit y of the wires were evaluated at various stages of the processing. Details of the processing and characterization techniques used are provided in this paper. Although, the processing resulted in a wire with a reasonable condu ctivity of 78.8 IACS% at room temperature, its tensile strength was low. Th e low tensile strength value was attributed to a lack of adequate bonding i n the material. Improvement in the manufacturing process is currently being implemented, with the view to address the bonding issue.