Matthias Mentink

Design and Manufacturing of a 45 kA at 10 T REBCO-CORC Cable-in-Conduit Conductor for Large-Scale Magnets

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is developing high-current ReBCO-CORC strand-based cables for use in future large-scale detector magnets. A six-around-one, forced flow gas-cooled ReBCO-CORC cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) is envisioned for application in magnets operating in the 20-40 K temperature range. A CICC, rated for 45 kA at 4.2 K and 10 T, is designed and in production. The CICC comprises a cable of six CORC strands helically wound around a tube. The cable has an expected current density of 105 A/mm2 at 10 T/4.2 K, which corresponds to an overall current density of 53 A/mm2. A cable current density of 110 A/mm2 can be reached when increasing the temperature to 20 K and operating in a magnetic field of 5 T.

Towards analysis of the electron density of states of Nb3Sn as a function of strain

An experiment is conducted to determine the effect of uni-axial strain on the superconducting and microscopic properties of bulk Nb3Sn. Methods of calculating the electron DOS are explored in order to investigate whether the strain sensitivity of the superconducting properties is correlated to changes in the electron density of states. Two different methods are developed to calculate the Sommerfeld constant from resistivity data, which is then related to the electron DOS. The methods are applied to the data and y* = (1.2±0.2) × 103 JK−2m−3 and (1.2±0.1) × 103 JK−2m−3 are found, very close and consistent with literature results. It is observed that applying 0.6 % compressive uni-axial strain at 19 K reduces the normal state resistivity by 13 %. Furthermore, the change in resistivity between strain states is temperature dependent, with a maximum change close to 40 K. As the measured behavior is not consistent with expectations, the electron DOS as function of strain cannot be calculated at this time. Studyi...

Quench Protection of Very Large, 50-GJ-Class, and High-Temperature-Superconductor-Based Detector Magnets

An investigation is performed on the quench behavior of a conceptual 50-GJ 8-T high-temperature-superconductor-based solenoid. In this design, a 50-kA conductor-on-round-core cable-in-conduit conductor utilizing ReBCO technology is envisioned, operating at 40 K. Various properties such as resistivity, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity are very different at this temperature, which affects the quench behavior. It is found that the envisioned conductor is very stable with a minimum quench energy of about 2 kJ. However, the quench propagation velocity is typically about 20 mm/s, so that creating a wide-spread normal zone throughout the coil is very challenging. Moreover, an extraction voltage exceeding 20 kV would be required to ensure a hot-spot temperature below 100 K once a thermal runaway occurs. A novel concept dubbed “rapid quench transformation” is proposed whereby the superconducting conductor is co-wound with a normal conductor to achieve a high degree of inductive coupling. This geometry allows for a significant electric noise reduction, thus enabling low-threshold quench detection. The secondary circuit is connected in series with a stack of diodes, not allowing current transfer during regular operation, but very fast current transfer once a quench is detected. With this approach, the hot-spot temperature can be kept within 20 K of the cold mass temperature at all times, the hot-spot temperature is well below 100 K, and just under 80% of the stored energy can be extracted during a quench.

Design of a 56-GJ Twin Solenoid and Dipoles Detector Magnet System for the Future Circular Collider

An aggressive low-mass and high-stress design of a very large detector magnet assembly for the Future Circular Collider (FCC-hh), consisting of a “twin solenoid” and two dipoles, is presented. The twin solenoid features two concentric solenoids. The inner solenoid provides 6 T over a free bore of 12 m and a length of 20 m, enclosing the inner particle trackers and electron and hadron calorimeters. The outer solenoid reduces the stray field of the inner solenoid and provides additional bending power for high-quality muon tracking. Dipoles are included, providing 10 T · m of bending power in a 6-m mean free bore covering the forward directions for η ≥ 2.5 particles. The overall length of this magnet assembly is 43 m. The presence of several separate magnets in the system presents a challenge in terms of forces and torques acting between them. A rigid support structure, part of the cold mass, holds the inner and outer solenoids of the twin solenoid in place. The dipoles are equipped with lateral coils so that the net force and torque are reduced to zero. The second challenge is the substantial conductor and support structure mass used for containing the magnetic pressure. A doped aluminum stabilized and reinforced conductor is proposed, allowing minimal overall mass of the system. The result is a system consisting of a 53-GJ twin solenoid and two 1.5-GJ dipoles. The cold mass and the vacuum vessel mass of the twin solenoid are 3.2 and 2.4 kt, respectively; and the dipole cold mass weighs 0.38 kt. Various properties of the magnet system are discussed such as magnetic, mechanical and thermal properties, quench behavior, and assembly.

Optimized and practical electrical joints for CORC type HTS cables

Within CERN the development of REBCO-CORC (Conductor On Round Core) type cables is pursued in view of possible application in future detector and accelerator magnets. An important issue is the design and qualification of terminations for connecting CORC cables mutually or to bus-bars. A termination design is envisaged that combines a simple manufacturing process with a lowest possible joint terminal resistance in the few nΩ range at 4.2 K, first for a single CORC cable and subsequently for CORC based Cable-in-Conduit Conductors. The investigation concerns the effect of tapering the CORC cable within the joint to form a staircase like geometry, which allows current to pass more directly from the copper joint casing to the inner REBCO layers of the CORC cable. Simulations have shown a substantial decrease in joint resistance at operating current in the case both CORC cable and joint casing are tapered. The CORC cable and new joint were tested at CERN. In this paper, some details of the new joint design, fabrication process, and model are presented and the results are summarized.

Development of Joint Terminals for a New Six-Around-One ReBCO-CORC Cable-in-Conduit Conductor Rated 45 kA at 10 T/4 K

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is developing a six-around-one conductor on round core (CORC)-strand-based cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) for use in detector and other large magnet systems. The CICC comprises six ReBCO-CORC strands helically wound around a central tube or rod and inserted in a square aluminum jacket. A major design challenge is finding a simple yet low-resistive method of injecting current homogeneously into the CORC strands of the CICC. In the production of joints for single-CORC cables, we are currently pursuing a method in which the different ReBCO layers at both ends of the CORC cable are trimmed into a staircase-like geometry. A similar trimming method is developed for joint terminals for the ReBCO-CORC-based CICC. A demonstration joint terminal is made to test the various steps of the trimming and manufacturing process before fabricating a joint terminal with real CORC strands. This paper presents an overview of CIC-joint terminal design, simulation results, and the different steps in the manufacturing process.

STEAM: A Hierarchical Cosimulation Framework for Superconducting Accelerator Magnet Circuits

Simulating the transient effects occurring in superconducting accelerator magnet circuits requires including the mutual electro-thermo-dynamic interaction among the circuit elements, such as power converters, magnets, and protection systems. Nevertheless, the numerical analysis is traditionally done separately for each element in the circuit, leading to possible inconsistent results. We present STEAM, a hierarchical cosimulation framework featuring the waveform relaxation method. The framework simulates a complex system as a composition of simpler, independent models that exchange information. The convergence of the coupling algorithm ensures the consistency of the solution. The modularity of the framework allows integrating models developed with both proprietary and in-house tools. The framework implements a user-customizable hierarchical algorithm to schedule how models participate to the cosimulation, for the purpose of using computational resources efficiently. As a case study, a quench scenario is cosimulated for the inner triplet circuit for the high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

Performance Test of an 8 kA @ 10-T 4.2-K ReBCO-CORC Cable

CERN is developing high-current ReBCO conductor on round core (CORC) cables for application in future detector and accelerator magnets. A characterization test on a ReBCO-CORC cable sample and its joints is performed in the 10-T FRESCA cable test facility at CERN. The sample is taken from the first 12-m-long CORC production. Key is the characterization of the field- and temperature-dependent critical currents of the CORC cable at 1.9 K and 4.2 K. Secondary objectives include evaluating the response of the CORC cable to quenches and the performance of cylindrical low resistive cable terminals especially designed and manufactured for use on CORC cables. The 7.6-mm CORC cable features 8 kA at 4.2 K and 10 T, and the joint terminals show a 25 ± 5 - nΩ resistance for 20-cm length.

Preliminary Conductor Layouts for the Detector Magnets of the Future Circular Collider

For the Future Circular Collider (FCC) presently under the conceptual design at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), very large conductors are needed for the detector magnets. The requested critical current is an order of magnitude higher than that of the previous generation, corresponding to about 250 kA at 4.2 K and 5 T. Characteristic conductor layouts, particularly the type and fraction of structural materials, are reviewed in order to extrapolate to the most promising designs and adapt those to the requirements imposed for the FCC detector magnets. The nominal currents required at characteristic operating conditions of 6.5 T and 4.6 K, conductor dimensions, production unit lengths and mass are investigated for defining the design of the conductor. For comparing various conductor layout options, and as a first step in the conductor R&D, it is proposed to study the conductor sizing according to relevant material characteristics.

Superconducting magnet with the reduced barrel yoke for the hadron Future Circular Collider

The conceptual design study of a hadron Future Circular Collider (FCC-hh) with a center-of-mass energy of the order of 100 TeV in a new tunnel of 80-100 km circumference assumes the determination of the basic requirements for its detectors. A superconducting solenoid magnet of 12 m diameter inner bore with the central magnetic flux density of 6 T is proposed for a FCC-hh experimental setup. The coil of 24.518 m long has seven 3.5 m long modules included into one cryostat. The steel yoke with a mass of 21 kt consists of two barrel layers of 0.5 m radial thickness, and 0.7 m thick nose disk, four 0.6 m thick end-cap disks, and three 0.8 m thick muon toroid disks each side. The outer diameter of the yoke is 17.7 m; the length without the forward muon toroids is 33 m. The air gaps between the end-cap disks provide the installation of the muon chambers up to the pseudorapidity of ±3.5. The conventional forward muon spectrometer provides the measuring of the muon momenta in the pseudorapidity region from ±2.7 to ±4.6. The magnet modeled with Cobhams program TOSCA. The total Ampere-turns in the superconducting solenoid coil are 127.25 MA-turns. The stored energy is 43.3 GJ. The axial force onto each end-cap is 480 MN. The stray field at the radius of 50 m off the coil axis is 14.1 mT and 5.4 mT at the radius of 100 m. All other parameters presented and discussed.