Superconducting Magnet Design for a Vertical-Ring High Gradient Magnetic Separation System

Abstract

This paper describes a design of a Vertical-ring High Gradient Superconducting Magnetic Separation (VHGMS) system for recovery of the magnetic ore and purification of non-metallic minerals. Compared to the conventional design which uses copper wires, using superconducting magnet can help reduce the energy consumption and increase the magnetic field. The first part of this paper introduces the operation margin design of the superconducting magnet. This magnet is wound with NbTi wires and its temperature margin is designed to be higher than 1 K. It generates an average magnetic field above 2 T in the filtering area. The second part of this paper introduces a quench protection circuit implemented in this magnet and post-quench analysis is also presented. Simulation results show that maximum temperature and terminal voltage are within the safe limits. So, the superconducting magnet can be effectively protected from burning-out during a quench. The third part of this paper proposes a novel reinforcement structure for the coil and analyzes the stress status during magnet charging and quench process. The Von mises stresses in the coil and stainless steel are both in allowable stress region and have a large safety margin.