Arjan Verweij

Status of the LHC superconducting cable mass production

Six contracts have been placed with industrial companies for the production of 1200 tons of the superconducting (SC) cables needed for the main dipoles and quadrupoles of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In addition, two contracts have been placed for the supply of 470 tons of NbTi and 26 tons of Nb sheets. The main characteristic of the specification is that it is functional. This means that the physical, mechanical and electrical properties of strands and cables are specified without defining the manufacturing processes. Facilities for the high precision measurements of the wire and cable properties have been implemented at CERN, such as strand and cable critical current, copper to superconductor ratio, interstrand resistance, magnetization, RRR at 4.2 K and 1.9 K. The production has started showing that the highly demanding specifications can be fulfilled. This paper reviews the organization of the contracts, the test facilities installed at CERN, the various types of measurements and the results of the main physical properties obtained on the first batches. The status of the deliveries is presented.

1.9 K test facility for the reception of the superconducting cables for the LHC

A new test facility (FRESCA-Facility, reception of superconducting cables) is under construction at CERN to measure the electrical properties of the LHC superconducting cables. Its main features are: independently cooled background magnet, test currents up to 32 kA, temperature between 1.8 and 4.5 K, long measurement length of 60 cm, field perpendicular or parallel to the cable face, measurement of the current distribution between the strands. The facility consists of an outer cryostat containing a superconducting NbTi dipole magnet with a bore of 56 mm and a maximum operating field of 9.5 T. The magnet current is supplied by an external 16 kA power supply and fed into the cryostat using self-cooled leads. The lower bath of the cryostat, separated by means of a so called lambda-plate from the upper bath, can be cooled down to 1.9 K using a subcooled superfluid refrigeration system. Within the outer cryostat, an inner cryostat is installed containing the sample insert. This approach makes it possible to change samples while keeping the background magnet cold, and thus decreasing the helium consumption and cool-down time of the samples. The lower bath of the inner cryostat, containing the sample holder with two superconducting cable samples, can as well be cooled down to 1.9 K. The samples can be rotated while remaining at liquid helium temperature, enabling measurements with the background field perpendicular or parallel to the broad face of the cable. Several arrays of Hall probes are installed next to the samples in order to estimate possible current imbalances between the strands of the cables.

Test Results From the PF Conductor Insert Coil and Implications for the ITER PF System

In this paper we report the main test results obtained on the Poloidal Field Conductor Insert coil (PFI) for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), built jointly by the EU and RF ITER parties, recently installed and tested in the CS Model Coil facility, at JAEA-Naka. During the test we (a) verified the DC and AC operating margin of the NbTi Cable-in-Conduit Conductor in conditions representative of the operation of the ITER PF coils, (b) measured the intermediate conductor joint resistance, margin and loss, and (c) measured the AC loss of the conductor and its changes once subjected to a significant number of Lorentz force cycles. We compare the results obtained to expectations from strand and cable characterization, which were studied extensively earlier. We finally discuss the implications for the ITER PF system.

New, Coupling Loss Induced, Quench Protection System for Superconducting Accelerator Magnets

A new and promising method for the protection of superconducting high-field magnets is developed and tested on the so-called MQXC quadrupole magnet at the CERN magnet test facility. The method relies on a capacitive discharge system inducing, during a few periods, an oscillation of the transport current in the superconducting cable of the coil. The corresponding fast change of the local magnetic field introduces a high coupling-current loss, which, in turn, causes a fast quench of a large fraction of the coil due to enhanced temperature. Results of measured discharges at various levels of transport current are presented and compared to discharges by quenching the coils using conventional quench heaters and an energy extraction system. The hot-spot temperature in the quenching coil is deduced from the coil voltage and current. The results are compared to simulations carried out using a lumped-element dynamic electro-thermal model of the so-called MQXC magnet developed with Cadence PSpice. The calculated voltages and currents are in good agreement with the measured data. Simulation and test results show that this new protection system, called coupling-loss induced quench, is a feasible method to reduce the hot-spot temperature in high-field superconducting magnets, even more when used in combination with conventional quench heaters.

Super coupling currents in Rutherford type of cables due to longitudinal nonhomogeneities of dB/dt

In this paper it is shown that nonhomogeneities in the field sweep rate dB/dt along the length of a Rutherford cable provoke a nonhomogeneous current distribution during a field sweep. This process can be described by means of super coupling currents (SCCs) flowing through the strands over lengths far larger than the cable pitch. These SCCs can be characterised by a characteristic length, a characteristic time, and a propagation velocity. The dependence of these three parameters on the strand resistance and the contact resistance between strands is illustrated. Two longitudinal nonhomogeneities in dB/dt are considered which are present in accelerator magnets. Firstly, an increase in dB/dt from 0 to a certain value simulating that part of the cable where the cable enters the magnet field. Secondly, a longitudinal decrease in dB/dt which occurs mainly in the heads of the magnet. It is shown that in accelerator magnets a nonhomogeneous current distribution induced by the field sweep can not be avoided. However, it seems to be very difficult to estimate the amplitude of the effect.<<ETX>>

The Effect of Transverse Pressure on the Inter-Strand Coupling Loss of Rutherford Type of Cables

In the framework of the LHC magnet development program at CERN, the effect of transverse pressure on the inter-strand coupling loss of Rutherford type of cables has been investigated. For this purpose a special measuring set-up is designed to measure calorimetrically the AC loss of a stack of keystoned cable pieces for an applied transverse pressure of up to 130 MPa. An AC dipole produces a varying magnetic field with a maximum amplitude of 1 T; the stack of cable pieces can be rotated with respect to the AC dipole in order to distinguish the inter-filament coupling loss from the inter-strand coupling loss. Measurements are presented of a NbTi cable with tinned strands as envisaged to be used for the inner layer of the LHC main bending dipoles. The inter-strand coupling loss increases strongly for higher pressures. The contact resistance Rc between crossing strands, as determined using a network model for the cable, varies between about 7 and 1 μΩ for pressures between 5 and 100 MPa respectively. The small Rc value at 100 MPa corresponds well with AC loss measurements on a model magnet in which a similar cable is used.

Coupling currents in Rutherford cables under time varying conditions

A network model is presented to simulate fully transposed Rutherford cables under time varying conditions. The intrinsic properties of the cable and the external applied conditions can be changed spatially. Several statistical distributions of the contact resistances are built in to investigate local differences in the coupling loss and in the eddy currents. The average loss is quite independent of the resistance distribution but locally both the loss and the eddy currents can increase significantly. The self field distribution of the cable is included, resulting in a saturation of the strands which depends on the relative direction between the magnetic field, the field sweep rate, and the transport current. Mutual inductances between strands are introduced, allowing the use of the model for nonstationary problems. Time constants can be calculated for both the coupling currents in the strands and for the local and global dissipation.<<ETX>>

A new hybrid protection system for high-field superconducting magnets

The new generation of high-field superconducting accelerator magnets poses a challenge concerning the protection of the magnet coil in the case of a quench. The very high stored energy per unit volume requires a fast and efficient quench heating system in order to avoid damage due to overheating. A new protection system for superconducting magnets is presented, comprising a combination of a novel coupling-loss induced quench (CLIQ) system and conventional quench heaters. CLIQ can provoke a very fast transition to the normal state in coil windings by introducing coupling loss and thus heat in the coils conductor. The advantage of the hybrid protection system is a global transition, resulting in a much faster current decay, a significantly lower hot-spot temperature, and a more homogeneous temperature distribution in the magnets coil.

Protecting a full-scale Nb3Sn magnet with CLIQ, the new coupling-loss-induced quench system

A new protection system for superconducting magnets called coupling-loss induced quench system (CLIQ) has been recently developed at CERN. Recent tests on Nb-Ti coils have shown that CLIQ is a valid, efficient, and promising method for the protection of high-magnetic-field superconducting magnets. However, the protection of new-generation Nb3Sn accelerator magnets is even more challenging due to the much higher stored energy per unit volume and to the significantly larger enthalpy needed to initiate and propagate a normal zone in such coils. Now, the CLIQ system is tested for the first time on a Nb3Sn magnet in the CERN magnet test facility in order to investigate its performance in practice, thereby validating the method for this type of superconducting magnets as well. Furthermore, we successfully reproduced the electrothermal transients during a CLIQ discharge. Finally, the implementation of various CLIQ-based protection schemes for the full-scale Nb3Sn quadrupole magnet for the LHC high luminosity upgrade is discussed. The impact of key system parameters on CLIQ performance and the advantages and drawbacks of using multiple CLIQ units on a single magnet are discussed.

Dynamic magnetic measurements of superconducting magnets for the LHC

Several superconducting dipole magnets were manufactured in industry or at CERN as model magnets for the future Large hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator. Results of the measurements of the field quality is given for current variations in the range of those expected for the accelerator operation. We present measurements of the field errors resulting from persistent currents in the superconducting filaments, eddy currents flowing in and between the strands of the superconducting cable, and current differences between the strands of the cable.<<ETX>>