Abstract: Electrically insulating Al2O3—SiO2 thin coatings have been deposited on long-length 316 stainless steel (SS) tape using a reel-to-reel continuous sol-gel dip coating process for co-winding insulation into YBCO pancake coils, a high temperature superconductor magnet technology. Coatings with a thickness of ˜2 ?m are achieved after just one dip with a tape withdrawal speed of ˜16 mm/s (1 m/min) and a calcination at 700° C. The coatings were measured to have a room-temperature breakdown voltage of about 100 V, corresponding to a dc dielectric strength of about 50 MV/m. Consequently, this process has low cost and high throughput and produces a thin electrical insulation with excellent thermal, dielectric, and mechanical properties. A new technique has been developed in the coating process to mitigate coating buildup near the edges of the tape.

Abstract: An electric joint design to be used in electromagnetic coils made with high-temperature superconducting tape, aspected wire, or cable. A terminal member contains an engraved twist-bend contour, which receives the coil and changes the direction of the coil by about 90 degrees without any hard-bends. A current lead is aligned with terminal section of the coil establishing an electric joint whose length is not limited by the coil geometry. Resistance is distributed along the length of the electric joint to reduce heat generation. The electric joint is placed away from the area where the magnetic forces are high to eliminate the problem of helium gas becoming trapped.