The U.S. LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP) and CERN are developing high-gradient Nb3Sn magnets for the high luminosity LHC interaction regions. Magnetic measurements of the first 1.5-m long, 150-mm aperture model quadrupole, MQXFS1, were performed during magnet assembly at LBNL, as well as during cryogenic testing at Fermilab's Vertical Magnet Test Facility. This paper reports on the results of these magnetic characterization measurements, as well as on the performance of new probes developed for the tests.

The U.S. High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project (HL-LHC AUP) is developing MQXFA magnets, a series of 4.5 m long 150 mm aperture high-field Nb$_{3}$Sn quadrupole magnets for the HL-LHC upgrade at CERN. Five pre-series magnets, MQXFA03 through MQXFA07, have been developed. During the magnet assembly stage, we perform magnetic measurements on the coil-pack sub-assembly and magnets after loading to track the field quality for two purposes. First, it serves as a quality assurance tool to check if the magnet field quality is on track to meet the acceptance criteria. Magnetic measurements are used to understand if magnetic shims are needed to compensate low-order field errors and to meet the field quality targets. Second, the measurements during the assembly stage can also help understand the field quality, especially the geometric field errors, for Nb$_{3}$Sn accelerator magnets. Here we summarize the measurement results of the pre-series MQXFA magnets, including the magnetic axis and twist angle. The results will provide useful feedback for the series production of Nb$_{3}$Sn magnets and on the optimization of field quality of accelerator magnets based on the wind-and-react Nb$_{3}$Sn technology.

LQXFA/B production series cryogenic assemblies are being built for the LHC upgrade by the HL-LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project (AUP). These contain a pair of MQXFA quadrupole magnets combined as a cold mass within a vacuum vessel, and are to be installed in the IR regions of the LHC. The LQXFA/B are being tested at 1.9 K to assess alignment and magnetic performance at Fermilab's horizontal test facility. The ∼10 m long assembly must meet stringent specifications for quadrupole strength and harmonic field integrals determination, magnetic axis location, and for variations in axis position and local field profiles. A multi-probe, PCB-based rotating coil and a Single Stretched Wire system are employed for these measurements. To accurately determine rotating coil location and angles within the cold mass, a laser tracker is utilized to record multiple targets at one end of the probe. This paper describes the measurements, probes/equipment, and techniques used to perform the necessary characterization of the cold mass.

The U.S. LHC Accelerator Research Program has been developing Nb3Sn quadrupole magnets of progressively increasing performance and complexity for the High-Luminosity LHC project. The magnets are wound with Rutherford cables following the wind-and-react process. The resulting inter-strand coupling can generate strong field distortions during current ramp. The latest series of 120 mm aperture magnets (HQ) are designed and built for high field quality, offering an opportunity for detailed studies of these effects. Magnetic measurements of first-generation HQ magnets showed strong ramp-rate dependence. A stainless-steel core was introduced for the second generation of magnet coils to control the inter-strand coupling currents and the resulting dynamic multipoles. We report the observed dynamic effects and compare with calculations taking into account the coil geometry and cross-contact resistance in the Rutherford cable. In particular, the dependence of field quality on width and position of the stainless steel core is discussed. © 2002-2013 IEEE.

We report test results for the one meter long dipol HD3b, a block-Type accelerator quality Nb3Sn magnet built a LBNL with operational bore fields in the range of 13-15 T. Th magnet is an upgrade of the previously reported HD2 and HD3 versions, with several modifications implemented to improve conducto positioning, reduce cable "hard-way" bending radius, an strengthen electrical insulation between cables and coil parts The magnet exhibited long training behavior, but showed a goo "memory" of the trained state upon thermal cycling. Ramp-rat dependence of the quench current, field quality performance characteristics and protection heater studies were conducted. Quenc propagation velocity and quench locations were determined base on the voltage signals; quench localization was further improve using inductive quench antenna and acoustic emission sensors Short-And long-Term acoustic precursors to quenching wer observed.

Persistent magnetization currents are induced in superconducting filaments during the current ramping in magnets. The resulting perturbation to the design magnetic field leads to field quality degradation, particularly at low field, where the effect is stronger relative to the main field. The effects observed in NbTi accelerator magnets were reproduced well with the critical-state model. However, this approach becomes less accurate for the calculation of the persistent-current effects observed in Nb3Sn accelerator magnets. Here, a finite-element method based on the measured strand magnetization is validated using three state-of-the-art Nb3Sn accelerator magnets featuring different subelement diameters, conductor critical currents, magnet designs, and test temperatures. The temperature dependence of the persistent-current effects is reproduced. Based on the validated model, the impact of conductor design on the persistent-current effects is discussed. The strengths, limitations, and possible improvements of the approach are also discussed.

Large-aperture, high-field, Nb3Sn quadrupoles are being developed by the U.S. LHC accelerator research program (LARP) for the High luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HiLumi-LHC). The first 1 m long, 120 mm aperture prototype, HQ01, was assembled with various sets of coils and tested at LBNL and CERN. Based on these results, several design modifications have been introduced to improve the performance for HQ02, the latest model. From the field quality perspective, the most relevant improvements are a cored cable for reduction of eddy current effects, and more uniform coil components and fabrication processes. This paper reports on the magnetic measurements of HQ02 during recent testing at the Vertical Magnet Test Facility at Fermilab. Results of baseline measurements performed with a new multilayer circuit board probe are compared with the earlier magnet. An analysis of probe and measurement system performance is also presented.

The Fermilab Mu2e experiment has been developed to search for evidence of charged lepton flavor violation through the direct conversion of muons into electrons. The transport solenoid is an s-shaped magnet that guides the muons from the source to the stopping target. It consists of 52 superconducting coils arranged in 27 coil modules. A full-size prototype coil module, with all the features of a typical module of the full assembly, was successfully manufactured by a collaboration between INFN-Genoa and Fermilab. The prototype contains two coils that can be powered independently. To validate the design, the magnet went through an extensive test campaign. Warm tests included magnetic measurements with a vibrating stretched wire and electrical and dimensional checks. The cold performance was evaluated by a series of power tests and temperature dependence and minimum quench energy studies.

The U.S. LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP) has been developing Nb3Sn quadrupoles of increasing performance for the high-luminosity upgrade of the large hadron collider. The 120-mm aperture high-field quadrupole (HQ) models are the last step in the RD phase supporting the development of the new IR Quadrupoles (MQXF). Three series of HQ coils were fabricated and assembled in a shell-based support structure, progressively optimizing the design and fabrication process. The final set of coils consistently applied the optimized design solutions and was assembled in the HQ03a model. This paper reports a summary of the HQ03a test results, including training, mechanical performance, field quality, and quench studies.

After the successful test of the first long Nb 3Sn quadrupole (LQS01) the US LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP, a collaboration of BNL, FNAL, LBNL and SLAC) is assessing training memory, reproducibility, and other accelerator quality features of long Nb 3Sn quadrupole magnets. LQS01b (a reassembly of LQS01 with more uniform and higher pre-stress) was subjected to a full thermal cycle and reached the previous plateau of 222 T/m at 4.5 K in two quenches. A new set of four coils, made of the same type of conductor used in LQS01 (RRP 54/61 by Oxford Superconducting Technology), was assembled in the LQS01 structure and tested at 4.5 K and lower temperatures. The new magnet (LQS02) reached the target gradient (200 T/m) only at 2.6 K and lower temperatures, at intermediate ramp rates. The preliminary test analysis, here reported, showed a higher instability in the limiting coil than in the other coils of LQS01 and LQS02. © 2011 IEEE.