Characteristics of Aluminum Matrix over Copper Matrix

1. High-purity aluminum has a lower resistivity than oxygen-free copper at any magnetic field strength. It must be noted that at higher field strengths, it becomes more significant. Because of the lower resistivity of aluminum, when aluminum is used as a substrate, the Joule heat is reduced due to the shunt effect and the perturbation of the magnetic field is controlled.
2. The thermal conductivity of high-purity aluminum is at least an order of magnitude better than oxygen-free copper, which reduces the local temperature rise of the coil;

3. The heat capacity per unit volume of aluminum is smaller than that of copper, and thus the cooling energy of aluminum can be 64% smaller than that of copper; if the conditions are stable, the heat requirement of aluminum is smaller than that of copper, thus reducing the cost of cooling.
4. The density of aluminum is only one-third of that of copper because the amount of aluminum is reduced, so the weight of the magnet is reduced by one-fourth. This allows superconducting magnets to be used in a wide range of applications, such as aerospace magnets and levitation magnets.
5. High-purity aluminum has the property of annealing itself at room temperature, which eliminates the resistance due to stress when winding a coil of wire.
6. The surface of aluminum can be anodized insulation, its advantage is that the insulating layer and conductor is good, mechanical strength is also high; its thickness is thinner than with organic insulation, not easy to rupture, and its thermal conductivity is also better than the organic insulator, if the thickness and thermal conductivity from the two aspects of the thermal conductivity of the coil can be increased by two or three times more than the high.