학술논문

A Metallurgical Inspection Method to Assess the Damage in Performance-Limiting Nb3Sn Accelerator Magnet Coils
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Applied Superconductivity, IEEE Transactions on. 33(5):1-8 Aug, 2023
Subject
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Coils
Superconducting magnets
Inspection
Etching
Microscopy
Copper
Magnetomechanical effects
Accelerator magnets
HL-LHC
metallurgical inspections
MQXF coils
++%24%5F{3}%24<%2Ftex-math>+<%2Finline-formula>+<%2Fnamed-content>Sn%22">Nb $_{3}$ Sn
quench damage assessment
Language
ISSN
1051-8223
1558-2515
2378-7074
Abstract
The design and production of Nb 3 Sn-based dipole and quadrupole magnets is critical for the realization of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Nb 3 Sn superconducting coils are aimed at enhancing the bending and focusing strengths of accelerator magnets for HL-LHC and beyond. Due to the brittle nature of Nb 3 Sn, the coil fabrication steps are very challenging and require very careful QA/QC. Flaws in the Nb 3 Sn filaments may lead to quenches, and eventually, performance limitation below nominal during magnet testing. A novel inspection method, including advanced non-destructive and destructive techniques, was developed to explore the root-causes of quenches occurring in performance-limiting coils. The most relevant results obtained for MQXF coils through this innovative inspection method are presented. This approach allows for precise assessment of the physical events associated with the quenches experienced by magnet coils, mainly occurring in the form of damaged strands with transversely broken sub-elements. Coil-slice preparation, micro-optical observations of transverse and longitudinal cross-sections, and a deep etching technique of copper will be illustrated in the present work, with a focus on the results achieved for a CERN coil from a non-conforming quadrupole magnet prototype, and two coils fabricated in the US, in the framework of the Accelerator Upgrade Project (AUP) collaboration, from two different non-conforming quadrupole magnets, respectively. The results obtained through the proposed inspection method will be illustrated.