Performance of heat transfer and pressure drop in superconducting cable former

Abstract This study was performed of the heat transfer and the pressure drop in superconducting cable former of more realistic geometry. Liquid nitrogen passes through the former for cooling. Corrugated pipes are used as formers to ensure flexibility, and the ratio of pitch and depth of corrugation p / e is less than 5, which is out of the range of normal usage. Range of the test was p / e =1–15, e / D =0.039–0.118. The heat transfer and the pressure drop were proportional to the corrugation depth, which is the same with the results reported by previous researchers. But the effect of pitch was different from the results of the range p / e >10. The heat transfer and the pressure drop had the maximum values on the range of p / e =5–10. Based on the numerical results, discussion was made on the design of superconducting cable former.