JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #47 - March/April 2009 - 101

AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID L. FECKO, NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, combination of these two requirements made this a very tricky problem. JCM: The purpose of this new insulation was to develop the next generation of super colliders. Has one already been built? D. F Several super colliders have already .: been built. The newest one, for the ITER project, has just come on line and is going through start-up issues. The technology discussed in this article was not used in the ITER project; however, it could be applied to the next generation of super colliders that use even stronger magnets. JCM: Is AGY planning to use this technology in medical devices? D. F AGY and its partners will happily .: resolved in multiple iterations. The dipole winding generating the high-field magnetic is made from 10-stacks of insulated cable segments. Each 10-stack is formed in a die assembly and compressed to ~2.5 MPa. The compressed 10-stack is subjected to an arduous heat treatment cycle so as to achieve optimum performance of the high-current-density superconducting material. The 10-stack is then impregnated with epoxy to impart structural integrity that will be required to withstand the high stresses caused by the magnetic field. The 10-stacks are then assembled into the magnet casing. The braided fibre covering for the superconducting precursor is now available in sizable quantities. AGY HUNTINGDON work with medical equipment manufacturers to bring this technology to the medical community. However, we are a fibre manufacturer and there are many steps involved between AGY and the use of super conducting magnets for medical applications. JCM: Does AGY commonly produce bespoke fibres for niche markets? As an example, your company just launched special glass fibres for medical implants. D. F AGY is among the most .: technologically-advanced fibre manufacturers in the world. Our products are used in markets such as aerospace, defence and electronics. We manufacture for both niche markets and high-volume applications. JEC Composites Magazine: What was the most difficult task in this project? Can you briefly explain why? DAVID FECKO: The most difficult task in the project was to meet the stringent performance parameters set by the customer. The customer needed an extremely thin material that could withstand high temperatures and pressures, while ruling out the use of organic components in the fibre sizing due to conductivity issues. The epoxy impregnation. The fibres were eventually produced and sent to A&P Technologies for application in the braiding operation. A&P Technologies tried several braiding formats until they found the most appropriate one: a thin layer of the new fibre providing complete coverage around the superconducting ceramic precursor. In order to achieve the insulating fabric coverage requirements, A&P Technology braided the yarn directly onto Rutherford cable made from the current generation of superconducting strands. By braiding a high angle on an 80-carrier machine, a high coverage factor with extremely fine yarns was achieved. This resulted in the production of a uniform, tight-weave fabric with a compressed thickness of 55 µm/side. The small thickness is required to obtain maximum magnetic field strength. Accelerator Technology used the braided superconducting precursor to manufacture a test magnet. The composite materials were developed using a new combination S-2 Glass fibre (SD450) with a very fine filament diameter of 5µ and with a thermoplastic 933 sizing. This allowed the development of an insulation material where the magnetic coil can be manufactured from a ceramic superconductive material. There were a few issues, such as providing complete coverage of the insulation material. These issues were More information AGY is a leading global producer of fibreglass yarns and high-strength fibreglass reinforcements used in a wide variety of composites applications. Headquartered in Aiken, S.C. (USA), AGY has a European office in Lyon, France, and manufacturing facilities in Aiken, S.C., and Huntingdon, Pa. target and destroy cancer in the body. A second area that can make use of this technology is energy storage. Large superconducting magnets can be used to store huge amounts of energy. In this capacity, one could envision large uninterruptible power supplies for factories. A third area where huge magnetic fields are required is space exploration. Radiation levels in space are high enough to be very dangerous for any extended period of time. If the voyage to Mars ever becomes reality, spacecraft will certainly need protection against radiation. Based on this technology, superconducting magnets could be made small enough to become a feasible solution for such a journey. There are many, many more applications for superconducting magnets where this technology can be applied. Contact: david.fecko@agy.com More information: www.agy.com Market potential The high-field magnet developed will have exceptional value in many disciplines. This research was primarily funded by the US Department of Energy with the goal of developing the next generation of super colliders. However, this technology is expected to be employed in many other fields. It will most probably play a major role is medical research. The increased magnetic fields created by these magnets will allow for improved magnetic resonance spectroscopy for mapping interactions of various medicines with the human body. The magnetic fields can also be used to No47 March-April 2009 / jec composites magazine 101

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #47 - March/April 2009

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