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ENEA - Fusion division
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Superconductivity: Small Magnet Testing Facility
Contact: Luigi Muzzi
e-mail: muzzi@frascati.enea.it
tel.: +39 06 9400 5391
fax.: +39 06 9400 5393
The experience gained over the years in testing the numerous inserts in
NbTi and Nb3Sn (SAFO, PUFF, Sex) and the recently renewed apparatus
has made the ENEA Superconductivity laboratory a good candidate for present
and future tests of sub-size conductors and magnets in ITER-relevant operational
conditions. The aim of these experiments is to study "quench"
stability and propagation in conductors cooled by forced circulation of
supercritical helium (cable-in-conduit conductors) and the study of the
influence of current distribution on the magnet performance. The numerous
sensors and diagnostics with which the magnets are equipped for their complete
characterisation also make these experiments ideal candidates for the validation
of numerical simulation codes.
solenoidal
superconductor smallmagnets test plant
The available facility consists of:
- a helium refrigerator, recently purchased from Linde, with a power of 500 W and able to supply helium at 4.5K and 16K;
- three background magnets, two in NbTi and one in Nb3Sn, with a maximum field of 3 T;
- four (1, 5, 6 and 16kA) power supplies and numerous other smaller current supplies;
- one AC current supply with a maximum current of 100 A;
- cryogenic and electrical lines tailored to large-scale experiments;
- various data acquisition systems.
At present the facility houses the AStEx
(Advanced Stability Experiment). The aim of the experiment
is to study the influence of current distribution on the conductor properties,
such as critical current, I-V characteristics, AC losses and stability.
The
ASTEX magnet consists of a CICC-type conductor of 36 NbTi strands, which
has been opened at both terminals and sub-divided into 4 sub-phases
of the conductor, each one consisting of 9 strands. One of these groups
has been further subdivided. The identification of the different groups
of strands and a system of external resistors will allow the module
to be supplied by a given current distribution, artificially imposed externally
and hence it will be possible to study its effect on the electrical properties
of the conductor. The module will be supplied by a maximum current of 6 kA,
immersed in a background field of 2.5 T, and will be operated at a temperature
of 5K and an input helium pressure of around 10 bar.
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