The electrical insulation system of a forced flow cooled superconducting (sc) magnet

The discharge of stored magnetic energy of sc magnets in the GJ range requi res discharge powers up to several hundreds of MW. The present state-of-the -art of sc high current cables in the 50 kA range leads to voltages of seve ral tens of kV. Forced flow cooled conductors allow a rigid winding constru ction with higher discharge voltages. At Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe a sc p oloidal field model coil (diameter 3 m) was constructed and tested at about 20 kV. The typical components of the electrical insulation system were dev eloped. Partial discharge measurements and pulse voltage were applied. it w as demonstrated that the engineering basis of the insulation system for abo ut 20 kV was developed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.