Development of a Bi-2223 HTS Magnet for 3T MRI System for Human Brains

Abstract

We are developing a cryogen-free high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet system for a compact 3T MRI system for human brains. In the conceptual design, the magnet system consists of 5 main coils that are layer windings of Bi-2223 tapes. The magnet system will have 500 mm room temperature bore and be operated at 20 K using G-M cryocoolers. The target field is 3 T ±5 ppm for 250 mm (dia,) and 200 mm (length) volume. All the coils will be connected in series and operated in driven mode. Controlled overpressure (CT-OP) processed Bi-2223/Ag tapes which are reinforced with Cu-alloy laminations are to be used for these coils. We investigated Ic-B-T performance in detail for short samples of the tape. We fabricated and tested five small layer-wound coils using the tape (38.4 ~ 46.2 m piece for each coil). Each small coil could be energized up to its expected current that was calculated using the short sample performance and the coil parameters. The maximum electromagnetic force (hoop stress) reached 137 MPa, and caused no degradation in the coil performance. These results show that our layer-winding techniques and the conductor performance (Ic-B-T and homogeneity along length) can be applicable and suitable for our 3T MRI magnet.