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We report quench test results for the 1-meter long, 120 mm aperture Nb3Sn quadrupole magnet, HQ01, designed, fabricated and tested for the LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP). The magnet has a design gradient of 219 T/m at 1.9 K and peak field of \sim15 T. Earlier tests (HQ01a, b) showed peak gradients of 152 T/m at 4.4 K but also revealed electrical insulation weaknesses that ultimately led to coil damage. Structural and electrical improvements incorporated into HQ01c magnet have assured and tracked the electrical integrity of the coils. The most recent HQ01d and HQ01e tests demonstrated gradients of 170 T/m at 4.4 K (86% of short sample critical current) with moderate training. By analyzing magnet voltage test data, quench propagation velocities and quench locations were determined. Most of the quenches tended to cluster around the pole region of the coils. Eight PC-board quench antennas were installed to better identify quench locations. We monitored longitudinal propagation of pole-turn quenches and correlated inductive responses of the quench antennas with magnet voltages. On down-ramps, the HQ magnet exhibited no quenches at rates up 150 A/s; the experimental ramp-rate dependence was analyzed using a simple ‘loss model’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

In December 2009 during its first cold test, LQS01, the first Long Nb3Sn Quadrupole made by LARP (LHC Accelerator Research Program, a collaboration of BNL, FNAL, LBNL and SLAC), reached its target field gradient of 200 T/m. This target was set in 2005 by the US Department of Energy, CERN and LARP, as a significant milestone toward the development of Nb3Sn quadrupoles for possible use in LHC luminosity upgrades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In support of the luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the US LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP) has been developing a 1-meter long, 120 mm bore Nb3Sn IR quadrupole magnet (HQ). With a short sample gradient of 219 T/m at 1.9 K and a conductor peak field of 15 T, the magnet will operate under higher forces and stored-energy levels than that of any previous LARP magnet models. In addition, HQ has been designed to incorporate accelerator quality features such as precise coil alignment and adequate cooling. The first 6 coils (out of the 8 fabricated so far) have been assembled and used in two separate tests—HQ01a and HQ01b. This paper presents design parameters, summary of the assemblies, the mechanical behavior as well as the performance of HQ01a and HQ01b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The test of the first LARP(LHC Accelerator Research Program) Long Quadrupole is a significant milestone toward the development of Nb3Sn quadrupoles for LHC (Large Hadron Collider) Luminosity Upgrades. These 3.7-m long magnets, scaled from the 1-m long Technological Quadrupoles, are used to develop our capabilities to fabricate and assemble Nb3Sn coils and structures with lengths comparable to accelerator magnet dimensions. The long quadruples have a target gradient of 200 T/m in a 90-mm aperture. Pre-stress and support are provided by an Al-shell-based structure pre-loaded using bladders and keys. The coils were fabricated at BNL and FNAL, the shell-based structure was designed and assembled at LBNL, the test is performed at FNAL. In this paper we present the final steps of the development of the first model (LQS01), several upgrades to the test facility, the test results of witness cables, and the short sample limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP) has been engaged in the fabrication of the 3.7 m long quadrupole magnet LQS01 in order to demonstrate that Nb3Sn magnets are a viable option for future LHC Luminosity upgrades. The LQS01 design, a scale-up of the 1 m long Technology Quadrupole TQS, includes four 3.4 m long cos(theta) coils contained in a support structure based on four 1 m long aluminum shells pre-tensioned with water-pressurized bladders (shell-type structure). In order to verify assembly procedures and loading operations, the structure was pre-stressed around solid aluminum "dummy coils" and cooled-down to 77 K. Mechanical behavior and stress variations were monitored with strain gauges mounted on the structure and on the dummy coils. The dummy coils were then replaced with Nb3Sn coils in a second assembly and loading procedure, in preparation for the cool-down and test. This paper reports on the cool-down test with dummy coils and on the assembly and loading of LQS01, with a comparison between 3D finite element model predictions and strain gauge data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]