Ensuring that high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets meet their design specifications is critical, necessitating precise verification of the thickness of HTS Coated Conductors (CCs) prior to their integration into the magnets. Currently, there is no available device capable of continuously measuring the thickness of HTS CCs in a reel-to-reel process. Moreover, HTS CCs often exhibit non-uniform thickness, both along their length and across their width. Consequently, it is imperative to develop a reel-to-reel thickness measurement system capable of accurately evaluating both the thickness and cross-sectional profile of HTS CCs.
This study presents the development of a reel-to-reel thickness measurement system specifically designed for HTS CCs. By integrating a reel-to-reel transfer mechanism with a confocal laser sensor, the system enables continuous thickness measurement during the transfer of long HTS CCs. The presentation will cover the following key aspects: (1) the system's technical specifications, (2) the measurement methodology, and (3) the preliminary results from system trials.
This research was supported by National R&D Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by Ministry of Science and ICT(2022M3I9A1076881)