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Future upgrades of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will require large aperture and high gradient quadrupoles. Nb3Sn is the most viable option for this application but is also known for its strain sensitivity. In high field magnets, with magnetic fields above 12 T, the Lorentz forces will generate mechanical stresses that may exceed 200 MPa in the windings. The existing measurements of critical current versus strain of Nb3Sn strands or cables are not easily applicable to magnets. In order to investigate the impact of high mechanical stress on the quench performance, a series of tests was carried out within a LBNL/CERN collaboration using the magnet TQS03 (a LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP) 1-meter long, 90-mm aperture Nb3Sn quadrupole). The magnet was tested four times at CERN under various pre-stress conditions. The average mechanical compressive azimuthal pre-stress on the coil at 4.2 K ranged from 120 MPa to 200 MPa. This paper reports on the magnet performance during the four tests focusing on the relation between pre-stress conditions and the training plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the effort towards the development of Nb3Sn magnets for future LHC luminosity upgrades, the LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP) has fabricated and tested the quadrupole magnet LQS01. The magnet implements 3.4 m long Nb3Sn coils contained in a support structure characterized by an external aluminum shell segmented in four sections. The room temperature pre-load of the structure is obtained by shimming load keys through bladders, pressurized during the loading operations and removed before cool-down. Temperature compensated strain gauges, mounted on structure components and coil poles, monitor the magnet's mechanical behavior during assembly, cool-down and, excitation. During the first test, LQS01 reached the target gradient of 200 T/m; the gauge data indicated that the aluminum shell was pre-tensioned to the target value estimated by numerical models, but a lack of pre-load was measured in the coil inner layer during ramping. As a result, the test was interrupted and the magnet disassembled, and inspected. A second test (LQS01b) was then carried out following a re-loading of the magnet. The paper reports on the strain gauge results of the first test and the analysis performed to identify corrective actions to improve the coil pre-stress distribution. The mechanical performance of the magnet during the second cool-down and test is then presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]