Michael Guinchard

Development of MQXF: The Nb 3 Sn Low-

The High Luminosity (HiLumi) Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project has, as the main objective, to increase the LHC peak luminosity by a factor five and the integrated luminosity by a factor ten. This goal will be achieved mainly with a new interaction region layout, which will allow a stronger focusing of the colliding beams. The target will be to reduce the beam size in the interaction points by a factor of two, which requires doubling the aperture of the low-β (or inner triplet) quadrupole magnets. The use of Nb3Sn superconducting material and, as a result, the possibility of operating at magnetic field levels in the windings higher than 11 T will limit the increase in length of these quadrupoles, called MQXF, to acceptable levels. After the initial design phase, where the key parameters were chosen and the magnets conceptual design finalized, the MQXF project, a joint effort between the U.S. LHC Accelerator Research Program and the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN), has now entered the construction and test phase of the short models. Concurrently, the preparation for the development of the full-length prototypes has been initiated. This paper will provide an overview of the project status, describing and reporting on the performance of the superconducting material, the lessons learnt during the fabrication of superconducting coils and support structure, and the fine tuning of the magnet design in view of the start of the prototyping phase.

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The Short Model Coil (SMC) assembly has been designed, as test bench for short racetrack coils wound with cable. The mechanical structure comprises an iron yoke surrounded by a 20 mm thick aluminum alloy shell, and includes four loading pads that transmit the required pre-compression from the outer shell into the two coils. The outer shell is pre-tensioned with mechanical keys that are inserted with the help of pressurized bladders and two 30 mm diameter aluminum alloy rods provide the axial loading to the coil ends. The outer shell, the axial rods, and the coils are instrumented with strain gauges, which allow precise monitoring of the loading conditions during the assembly and at cryogenic temperature during the magnet test. Two SMC assemblies have been completed and cold tested in the frame of a European collaboration between CEA (FR), CERN and STFC (UK) and with the technical support from LBNL (US). This paper describes the main features of the SMC assembly, the experience from the dummy assemblies, the fabrication of the coils, and discusses the test results of the cold tests showing a peak field of 12.5 T at 1.9 K after training.

Quadrupole for the HiLumi LHC

The objective of this paper is to review recent advances in the sensors used to measure seismic linear vibrations at low frequencies. The main types of inertial sensors are reviewed: absolute displacement sensors, geophones, accelerometers, and seismometers. The working principle of each of them is explained, along with the general strategies to extend their bandwidth. Finally, the principle fundamental limitations of all inertial sensors are reviewed: tilt‐to‐horizontal coupling, zero‐length springs, and sources of noise.

The Short Model Coil (SMC) Dipole: An R&D Program Towards

As part of the European project EuCARD, the aim of the short model coil (SMC) dipole magnet is to perform R&D on the Nb3Sn coil fabrication technology while testing Nb3Sn superconducting cables. The baseline design features two double-layer racetrack coils, within a support structure based on bladders and keys technology and surrounded by an aluminum shell. The last magnet assembled up to now of the SMC series (SMC3a) was tested in 2011 and it reached a peak field of 12.5 T in the coil, corresponding to approximately 90 % of the short sample limit. Following the successful test of SMC3a, modifications were implemented in the design of the coil parts and support structure in order to accommodate wider cables. While making a valid contribution to the development of the Nb3Sn magnets technology, the final goal of the high field magnet project is to design, build, and test the FRESCA 2 magnet. Based on the SMC structure, the racetrack model coil represents an upgrade of the SMC in order to test a FRESCA 2 cable. The first part of this paper describes the status of activities on the SMC project, the design changes for the future SMC, and their predicted magnet parameters. The second part is dedicated to the description of the magnetic and mechanical design of the racetrack model coil.

{\rm Nb}_{3}{\rm Sn}

New polyimide cable insulation schemes improving the cooling of Nb-Ti superconducting coils were recently developed to face the severe heat loads at which the next generation of superconducting accelerator magnets will work. In order to qualify the new insulation, a test campaign was realized to assess both its electrical and mechanical features with respect to the standard LHC insulation. The electrical tests assessed the dielectric strength and inter-turn leakage current to be satisfactory. The mechanical tests investigated the insulation thickness under load and the stress relaxation at ambient temperature, thus providing essential information for the magnetic and mechanical design of the final focusing magnets for the LHC upgrade phase I.

Accelerator Magnets

The U.S. LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP) and CERN combined their efforts in developing Nb3Sn magnets for the high-luminosity LHC upgrade. The ultimate goal of this collaboration is to fabricate large aperture Nb3Sn quadrupoles for the LHC interaction regions. These magnets will replace the present 70-mm-aperture NbTi quadrupole triplets for expected increase of the LHC peak luminosity up to 5 × 1034 cm -2s-1 or more. Over the past decade, LARP successfully fabricated and tested short and long models of 90 and 120-mm-aperture Nb3Sn quadrupoles. Recently, the first short model of 150-mm-diameter quadrupole MQXFS was built with coils fabricated both by LARP and CERN. The magnet performance was tested at Fermilabs vertical magnet test facility. This paper reports the test results, including the quench training at 1.9 K, ramp rate and temperature dependence, as well as protection heater studies.

Review: Inertial sensors for low-frequency seismic vibration measurement

Over the last five years, the model MQXC quadruple, a 120-mm aperture, 120 T/m, 1.8 m long, Nb-Ti version of the LHC insertion upgrade (due in 2021), has been developed at CERN. The magnet incorporates several novel concepts to extract high levels of heat flux and provide high quality field harmonics throughout the full operating current range. Existing LHC-dipole cable with new, open cable and ground insulation was used. Two, nominally identical 1.8-m-long magnets were built and tested at 1.8 K at the CERN SM18 test facility. This paper compares in detail the two magnet tests and presents: quench performance, internal stresses, heat extraction simulating radiation loading in the superconducting coils, and quench protection measurements. The first set of tests highlighted the conflict between high magnet cooling capability and quench protection. The second magnet had additional instrumentation to investigate further this phenomenon. Finally, we present test results from a new type of superconducting magnet protection system.

Status of the Activities on the

The upgrade of the LHC collimation system includes additional collimators in the LHC lattice. The longitudinal space for the collimators can be obtained by replacing some LHC main dipoles with shorter but stronger dipoles compatible with the LHC lattice and the existing powering circuits, cryogenics, and beam vacuum. A joint development programme aiming at building a 5.5 m long two-in-one aperture Nb3Sn dipole prototype suitable for installation in the LHC is being conducted by FNAL and CERN. As part of the first phase of the programme, 1 m and 2 m long single aperture models are being built and tested. Later on, the collared coils from these models will be assembled and tested in a two-in-one aperture configuration in both laboratories. A 2 m long practice model made of a single coil wound with Nb3Sn cable, MBHSM101, was developed and constructed at CERN. It has been completed, and tested at both 4.3 K and 1.9 K. This practice model features collared coils based on removable pole concept, S2-glass cable insulation braided over a mica layer, and coil end spacers made of sintered stainless steel with springy legs. The paper describes the main features of this practice model, the main manufacturing steps and the results of the cold tests.

\hbox{Nb}_{3} \hbox{Sn}

This paper reports on the assembly process and cool-down to cryogenic temperature of the support structure of FRESCA2, which is a dipole magnet for upgrading the actual CERN cable test facility FRESCA. The structure of the FRESCA2 magnet is designed to provide the adequate pre-stress, through the use of keys, bladders, and an Al alloy shrinking cylinder. To qualify the assembly and loading procedures, the structure was assembled with Al blocks (dummy coils) that replaced the brittle Nb3Sn coils, and then cooled-down to 77 K with liquid nitrogen. The evolution of the mechanical behavior was monitored via strain gauges located on different components of the structure (shell, rods, yokes and dummy coils). We focus on the expected stresses within the structure after assembly, loading and cool-down. The expected stresses were determined from the 3-D finite element model of the structure. A comparison of the 3-D model stress predictions with the strain gauge data measurements is made. The coherence between the predicted stresses with the experimental gauge measurements will validate the FEM model of the structure.

Dipole SMC and of the Design of the RMC

Within the scope of the High-Luminosity LHC project, the collaboration between CERN and U.S. LARP is developing new low-β quadrupoles using the Nb3Sn superconducting technology for the upgrade of the LHC interaction regions. The magnet support structure of the first short model was designed, and two units were fabricated and tested at CERN and at LBNL. The structure provides the preload to the collar-coil subassembly by an arrangement of outer aluminum shells pretensioned with water-pressurized bladders. For the mechanical qualification of the structure and the assembly procedure, superconducting coils were replaced with solid aluminum “dummy coils,” and the structure was preloaded at room temperature and then cooled-down to 77 K. The mechanical behavior of the magnet structure was monitored with the use of strain gauges installed on the aluminum shells, the dummy coils, and the axial preload system. This paper reports on the outcome of the assembly and the cooldown tests with dummy coils, which were performed at CERN and at LBNL, and presents the strain gauge measurements compared with the 3-D finite-element model predictions.