Mechanical Design and Analysis of the Baby-IAXO Magnet Cold Mass, Cryostat and Support System

Abstract

According to the so-called Primakoff effect, axions and axion-like particles can transform into photons in the presence of a strong magnetic field. To continue the search for these hypothetical particles, a new helioscope called the International Axion Observatory IAXO, and its subscale but fully functional demonstrator Baby-IAXO, are being designed. To increase the detector's sensitivity by a factor of 10 compared to the present CAST helioscope, the experiment needs a stronger magnetic field and in a much larger volume. The superconducting magnet of Baby-IAXO features two 10 m long flat racetrack coils spaced by 0.8 m, arranged in a common coil configuration and generating an average magnetic field of 2.1 T in the two 700 mm detection bores positioned in between the coils. The cold mass structure based on using mainly Al6061-T651, is designed to guarantee pre-stress of the coils during curing and sustain the magnetic loads by the Lorentz force. At ultimate current of 12 kA, the repelling force between the two coils is 33 MN. Furthermore, the supporting structure has to keep the coils in position as they are in an unstable equilibrium in the plane parallel to the racetracks. To support the cold mass in the cryostat, an arrangement of rods was chosen in order to minimize the cryogenic load. The system is composed of 16 titanium rods, which in addition to supporting the expected force loads also keeps the magnet centered. The total mass of the magnet is 35 t comprising an 18 t cold mass and a 15 t cryostat. The magnet is installed on an elevated 360° rotating platform further constraining the cryostat design. Here the mechanical design of cold mass, cold mass supporting system and cryostat of the Baby-IAXO magnet are presented.