A new hybrid protection system for high-field superconducting magnets

• Published in: Superconductor science & technology Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 44023 - 7
• Main Authors: Ravaioli, E, Datskov, V I, Kirby, G, ten Kate, H H J, Verweij, A P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.04.2014
• Subjects: accelerator magnet; circuit modeling; Coils (windings); Conductors (devices); Damage; Heaters; Hybrid systems; Magnet coils; magnet protection; Protection systems; quench protection; superconducting coil; Superconducting magnets; Superconductors
• ISSN: 0953-2048; 1361-6668
• DOI: 10.1088/0953-2048/27/4/044023

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 coil's 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 magnet's coil.