P. Thompson

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...

Tuning shims for high field quality in superconducting magnets

A high field quality in quadrupoles for the interaction region is crucial to the luminosity performance of high energy colliders such as the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The field quality in magnets is limited in part by manufacturing tolerances in the parts and assembly. A tuning shim method has been developed to reduce the relative field errors (/spl Delta/B/B) from /spl sim/10/sup -4/ to /spl sim/10/sup -5/ at 2/3 of the coil radius. Eight tuning shims having a variable thickness of iron are inserted after the construction and measurement of field harmonics in the magnet. In this paper the tuning shim technique is described for RHIC interaction region quadrupoles. The results of calculations and measurement are also presented.

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.

Superconducting Magnets for the CBA Project

Abstract The superconducting magnets that were designed and tested for the BNL colliding beam accelerator are described, including dipoles, quadrupoles and trim coils. The dipoles had an effective length of 436 cm, a good field aperture of 8.8 cm diameter, and were designed for an operating field of 5.28 T in a temperature range between 2.6 K and 3.8 K (provided by supercritical helium). The quadrupoles had the same aperture, an effective length of 138.5 cm, and were designed to operate in series with the dipoles, with a gradient of 70.8 T/m. The dipoles incorporated internal sextupole, octupole, and decapole trim coil windings; the quadrupole trim coils consisted of dipole, quadrupole, and dodecapole windings. The design, construction, and performance (training, field quality, quench protection characteristics) of prototype magnets are discussed in considerable detail.

Construction of cold mass assembly for full-length dipoles for the SSC accelerator

Four of the initial six 17m long demonstration dipole magnets for the proposed Superconducting Super Collider have been constructed, and the first one is now being tested. This paper describes the magnet design and construction of the cold mass assembly. The magnets are cold iron (and cold bore) 1-in-1 dipoles, wound with partially keystoned current density-graded high homogeneity NbTi cable in a two-layer \cos \theta coil of 40 mm inner diameter. The magnetic length is 16.6 m. The coil is prestressed by 15 mm wide stainless steel collars, and mounted in a circular, split iron yoke of 267 mm outer diameter, supported by a cylindrical yoke (and helium) containment vessel of stainless steel. The magnet bore tube assembly incorporates superconducting sextupole trim coils produced by an industrial, automatic process akin to printed circuit fabrication.

Construction and testing of arc dipoles and quadrupoles for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL

The production run of superconducting magnets for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) project at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is well underway. Of the 288 arc dipoles needed for the collider, more than 120 have been delivered. More than 150 arc quadrupoles have been delivered. All of these magnets have been accepted for RHIC. This paper reports the construction and performance of these magnets. Novel features of design and test, introduced to enhance technical performance and control costs, are also discussed.

Large aperture quadrupoles for RHIC interaction regions

The ultimate luminosity performance of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) depends on the field quality in the large aperture (130 mm) superconducting quadrupoles in the interaction regions. In this paper we discuss the design features that are incorporated to obtain a good field quality. Coil midplane gap and pole shims may be adjusted to remove certain field harmonics due to systematic errors in construction. Iron tuning shims will be inserted at eight strategic locations in the assembled magnets to correct the measured values of harmonics in each magnet. The performance of two prototype magnets and upgrades under consideration will be discussed.<<ETX>>

Superconducting 8 cm corrector magnets for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)

RHIC will require 420 80 mm corrector magnets. The magnets are made up of coils wound on a computer controlled wiring machine using ultrasonic power to bond the wire into an epoxy coated flat substrate. The coils are wrapped onto support tubes and concentrically assembled inside an iron yoke. These magnets are being built at Brookhaven National Laboratory with more than 280 constructed by May, 1 1995. Design, construction and test results are presented.

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. >