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To carry current for the ITER correction coils, the 10-kA high-temperature superconducting current leads studied here are designed. Current leads provide the transition from 4.5-K low temperature to room temperature. This paper summarizes the major design features of the prototypes, which is followed by a discussion of the manufacturing and testing. The test results approved their excellent performance on low joint resistance and long loss-of-flow accident time. The overheating time, mass flow, and heat loads to 5-K ends also reached the expectation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ASIPP will supply for ITER all the current leads. There are three types of high temperature superconducting (HTS) current leads designed to carry 68 kA, 55 kA, or 10 kA to the ITER magnets. Different from the trial leads manufactured and tested in Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), some critical technologies were qualified before the manufacturing of the ITER leads could commence, including: 1) welding, brazing, and soldering qualification; 2) fin type heat exchanger (HEX) with tight assembly tolerance; 3) low temperature superconducting (LTS) linker with cables soldered to the 5 K copper terminal; 4) instrumentation mock-up for the temperature and voltage test. In this paper, the outcome of these qualification activities will be reported together with the plans for the series production planning and development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]