Fabrication and transport properties of superconducting MgB2 cables

During the past few years the superconducting properties of mono and multifilamentary MgB2 wires and tapes have been improved considerably. However, not much work has yet been done to cabling procedures that are well known for classical low temperature superconductors, despite the fact that MgB2 conductors can easily be produced in a round-shape geometry. Nowadays, it is a challenge to fabricate MgB2-based cables suitable, for instance, for magnet technology or power transmission. This paper presents a technique for cable production and studies the transport properties of different sub-size MgB2 cables, fabricated from mechanically and electrically-stabilized thin MgB2 strands capable of carrying high critical currents. The cables vary in matrix composition and in the final design. It is shown here that it is possible to construct cables which do not show degradation for the critical current. Furthermore, the possibility of using a very small twist pitch (similar to 5 mm) in the cables compared to their outer diameter (similar to 1 mm) indicates a promising future for MgB2 superconductors.