DIN EN 61788-21:2016-02

Superconducting wires represent a key and often "enabling" technology for a variety of important industrial products. Consensus-based standards for superconducting wires greatly simplify the preparation of specifications for procurement, development and design of components, quality assurance, description of equipment, and general application in industrial technologies. This Part 21 of the IEC 61788 series of international standards, "Superconductivity," provides a first-choice foundation for both manufacturers and users of superconductor technology. The measurement methods and test procedures for the critical properties in service are described. Compliance with the normative information supports the development of commercial markets and the distribution of the products. From this point of view, standardization in general supports access to characteristic information that is important for superconductor-based technologies. This part of IEC 61788 contains the measurement principles and measurement methods together with the relevant terminology and associated definitions. Specifications of superconducting wire products take into account the function of the individual components of superconducting wires to meet the operational requirements, the conditions required to maintain superconducting operation, and account for the mechanical forces and stresses encountered. In the various forms of superconductor wire products supplied by manufacturers, these aspects are considered to varying degrees depending on the superconducting materials and the intended operating conditions and environments. The development and design of equipment in which superconductor wire products are used shall take into account the unique characteristics of superconductor wires in service. The general characteristics of technical superconductor wires are described in IEC/TR 61788-20 in terms of simple general characteristics to support specification and use of superconductor wire products. The relevant standard test methods for superconducting wires specified in this part of IEC 61788 are applied for testing, certification and quality control of superconducting wires. This Part 21 of the international series of standards IEC 61788 "Superconductivity" specifies the test methods used for validating the mechanical, electrical, and superconducting properties of practical SC wires. A wire is considered as being practical if it can be procured in sufficiently continuous lengths under ordinary commercial transactions to build devices. Conductors made of multiple wires, such as cables, are not included in the scope of this part of IEC 61788. Extension of the discussions in this part of IEC 61788 beyond practical SC wires is not intended, even though referenced documents include aspects outside of this scope. The responsible committee is DKE/K 184 "Supraleiter" ("Superconductors") of the DKE (German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies) at DIN and VDE.