A practical fit for the critical surface of NbTi

Known expressions, for the critical temperature, critical field and pinning force in NbTi are combined into a self-consistent fit formula that provides the critical current density as a function of temperature and field. The main advantage of such a fit is the extended validity range. Data available in literature and measurements on LHC strands are used to demonstrate the accuracy of the fit. The J/sub c/ data-sets used to cover a range of field from 0 T to 9 T and temperature from 1.9 K to 9 K. The standard deviation of the fits presented is of the order of 5% or better. This accuracy is generally sufficient for design purposes, extrapolation and scaling of measured results. Better accuracy, e.g. for short sample limit prediction, can be achieved restricting the domain of validity.