Unified heat treatment for multifilamentary internal tin and bronze route Nb3Sn strands

The unification of the reaction heat treatment cycle for Nb3Sn strands produced by Europa Metalli (EM) and Vacuumschmelze (formerly: VAC, now: European Advanced Superconductors, EAS) is of great interest and importance for the intended construction of ITER. It will be shown that a unified heat treatment could be found for these two strand types, with the additional advantage of a total heat treatment time significantly shorter than recommended by the strand producers.