Evaluation of the delamination strengths in differently processed practical Ag-stabilized REBCO CC tapes under transverse loading

Multilayered high-temperature superconductor coated conductor (CC) tapes are used in an extensive range of applications and are exposed to many stresses such as hoop stress, radial/transverse tensile stress under large Lorentz forces, and thermal stress while cooling if thermal expansion properties differ. Loads induced transversely at the tape surface inevitably create delamination phenomena in the multilayered CC tapes. Thus, delamination behaviors of CC tapes along the c-axis under transverse loading conditions, which can vary based on manufacturing process and constituent layers, must be characterized for applications. The anvil test method was used to mechanically investigate the delamination characteristics of various commercially available Ag-stabilized CC tapes at room temperature and 77 K, finding superior strength at the latter. The wide variations found depended on tape structure and fabrication technique. Fractographic morphologies of delaminated tapes supported the findings under transverse loading conditions.