Self-protected high-temperature superconducting demonstrator magnet for particle detectors

Abstract

A high temperature superconducting (HTS) demonstration coil has been developed in the frame of the Experimental Physics department Research and Development program at CERN The magnet extends the recent experimental demonstration of aluminium-stabilised HTS conductors and supports the development of future large scale detector magnets. The HTS magnet has five turns and an open bore diameter of 230 mm. Up to 30 K, the coil was measured to be fully superconducting across four central turns at 4.4 kA, the maximum available current of existing power supply. The central magnetic field is 0.113 T, the peak field on the conductor is 1.2 T and the coil has a stored magnetic energy of 0.1 kJ. A 3D-printed aluminium alloy (Al10SiMg) cylinder acts both as a stabiliser and a mechanical support for the superconductor. The resistivity of Al10SiMg was measured at cryogenic temperatures, and has a residual resistivity ratio of approximately 2.5. The ability to solder ReBCO tapes (a stack of four REBCO tapes, 4 mm wide, Fujikura) to Al10SiMg stabiliser, electroplated with copper and tin, forming a coil, is demonstrated using tin-lead solder at 188 ∘C. The HTS magnet was proven to be stable when superconductivity was broken locally using a thin-film heater. Despite voids in the solder joint between HTS and stabiliser, no degradation of the magnet’s performance was observed after 12 thermal cycles and locally quenching the magnet. A numerical model of the transient behaviour of solenoid with partially shorted turns is developed and validated against measurements. Our work experimentally and numerically validates that using an aluminium alloy as a stabiliser for HTS tapes can result in a stable, lightweight and transparent magnet.