J. Strait

About the mechanics of SSC dipole magnet prototypes

During the last two years, nine 4‐cm aperture, 17‐m‐long dipole magnet prototypes were produced by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) under contact with the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) Laboratory. These prototypes are the last phase of a half‐decade‐long R&D program, carried out in collaboration with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of the SSC main‐ring dipole magnets. They also lay the groundwork for the 5‐cm‐aperture dipole magnet program now underway. After reviewing the design features of the BNL 4‐cm‐aperture, 17‐m‐long dipole magnets, we describe in detail the various steps of their fabrication. For each step, we discuss the paramaters that need to be mastered, and we compare the values that were achieved for the nine most recent prototypes. The data appear coherent and reproducible, demonstrating that the assembly process is under control. We then analyze the mechanical behavior of these magnets during cool...

Tests of full scale SSC R&D dipole magnets

Four full-scale SSC (Superconducting Super Collider) research and development dipole magnets, incorporating successive mechanical design improvements, have been quench-tested. Three of the magnets are heavily instrumented with sensors to measure their mechanical behavior and verify the effectiveness of the mechanical improvements and with multiple voltage taps to locate the origin of quenches. The last two magnets of this series reach the SSC design operating field of 6.6 T in two or fewer quenches. Load cells and motion sensors show that in these two magnets the azimuthal clamping stress is higher at zero current and drops more slowly with excitation that in previous long magnets, and that the axial motion of the coil upon excitation has been greatly reduced. Quenches are found to originate preferentially in several locations, suggesting other design improvements. >

Quench Start Localization in Full-Length SSC R&D Dipoles

Full-length SSC R&D dipole magnets instrumented with four voltage taps on each turn of the inner quarter coils have been tested. These voltage taps enable (1) accurate location of the point at which the quenches start and (2) detailed studies of quench development in the coil. Attention here is focused on localizing the quench source. After recalling the basic mechanism of a quench (why it occurs and how it propagates), the method of quench origin analysis is described: the quench propagation velocity on the turn where the quench occurs is calculated, and the quench location is then verified by reiterating the analysis on the adjacent turns. Last, the velocity value, which appears to be higher than previously measured, is discussed.

Tests of prototype SSC magnets

Results are presented from tests of the third full-scale development dipole magnet for the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) and from a retest of a 4.5-m model magnet of the same design mounted in an SSC cryostat. The 4.5-m magnet showed consistent quench performance between its original tests in boiling liquid helium in a vertical dewar and the current tests in forced-flow helium in a horizontal cryostat. Little or no retraining was observed over several thermal cycles. The full-length magnet required 12 quenches to train to its short-sample limit of 6800 A and displayed a reasonably stable quench plateau following training. Data are presented on quench behavior as a function of current and temperature, and on azimuthal and longitudinal loading of the coil by the support structure. >

Cryogenic Instrumentation of an SSC Magnet Test Stand

This paper describes the system used to acquire cryogenic data for the testing of SSC magnets at the Fermilab Magnet Test Facility. An array of pressure transducers, resistance thermometers, vapor pressure thermometers, and signal conditioning circuits are used Readings with time resolution appropriate for quench recording are obtained with a waveform digitizer and steady-state measurements are obtained with higher accuracy using a digital voltmeter. The waveform digitizer is clocked at a 400 Hz sampling rate and these readings are stored in local ring buffers. The system is modular and can be expanded to add more channels. The software for the acquisition, control, logging, and display of cryogenic data consist of two programs which run as separate tasks. These programs (as well as a third program which acquires quench and magnetic data) communicate and pass data using shared global resources. The acquired data are available for analysis via a nationwide DECnetα network.

Mechanical behavior of Fermilab-built 1.5 m model SSC collider dipoles

Several model SSC (Superconducting Super Collider) dipole magnets (50-mm aperture, 1.5-m magnetic length) have been built and tested at Fermilab. These magnets are instrumented with strain gauges to measure stresses in the coil, the cold mass shell, and the coil end clamp assembly. Measurements are made of these quantities during assembly, cooldown, excitation, and warmup. The collar vertical deflection with prestress and the shell azimuthal tension agree quantitatively with design expectations. Coil prestresses within the desired range have been achieved without pole shims. Prestress loss with cooldown compares favorably with 40-mm models. Most of the axial I*B force is transmitted to the shell via collar-yoke-shell friction, and not by compressive loading of the coil end. The yoke parting plane gap remains closed to well above the operating point, and end clamp deflections are >

Full length prototype SSC dipole test results

Results are presented from tests of the first full length prototype SSC dipole magnet. The cryogenic behavior of the magnet during a slow cooldown to 4.5K and a slow warmup to room temperature has been measured. Magnetic field quality was measured at currents up to 2000 A. Averaged over the body field all harmonics with the exception of b 2 and b 8 are at or within the tolerances specified by the SSC Central Design Group. (The values of b 2 and b 8 result from known design and construction defects which will be corrected in later magnets.) Using an NMR probe the average body field strength is measured to be 10.283 G/A with point to point variations on the order of one part in 1000. Data are presented on quench behavior of the magnet up to 3500 A (approximately 55% of full field) including longitudinal and transverse velocities for the first 250 msec of the quench.

Quench Characteristics of Full-Length SSC R&D Dipole Magnets

Several 17-meter-long SSC R&D dipole magnets, instrumented with numerous voltage taps on the inner quarter coils, have been tested. These magnets, protected with quench heaters, differed in mechanical details as well as in the cables used for the winding. The voltage taps enabled us to measure longitudinal and azimuthal quench propagation velocities. Summary plots of these velocities are presented showing that, even though the Fourier conduction model doesn’t apply, the mechanism of the quench is reproducible from magnet to magnet. Correlations are established between the velocities and the fraction of short sample. After showing that for currents higher than 5000 A the magnet is self-protected, we investigate the relation between the number of MIITs and the quench characteristics.

Magnetic field measurements of 1.5 meter model SSC collider dipole magnets at Fermilab

Magnetic field measurements have been performed at Fermilab on 1.5 m magnetic length model dipoles for the Superconducting Supercollider (SSC). Harmonic measurements are recorded at room temperature before and after the collared cell is assembled into the yoke and at liquid helium temperature. Measurements are made as a function of longitudinal position and excitation current. High field data are compared with room temperature measurements of both the collared coil and the completed yoked magnet and with the predicted fields of both the body of the magnet and the coil ends. The effects of yoking and cold testing agree well with predictions. One of the two cold-tested dipoles satisfies the SSC specification for sextupole/decapole. >

Status of 4-cm Aperture, 17-m-Long SSC Dipole Magnet R&D Program at BNL Part I: Magnet Assembly

Over the last year-and-a-half, several 4-cm-aperture, 17-m-long dipole magnet prototypes were built by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) under contract with the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) Laboratory. These prototypes are the last phase of a half-decade-long R D program, carried out in collaboration with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of the SSC main ring dipole magnets. They also prepare the way of the 5-cm-aperture dipole magnet program to be started soon. In this paper, we analyze the mechanical behavior of the BNL prototypes during cool-down and excitation, and we attempt to relate this behavior to the magnet features. The data reveal that the mechanical behavior is sensitive to the vertical collar-yoke interference, and that the magnets exhibited somewhat erratic changes in coil end-loading during cool-down. 9 refs., 6 figs.