Methods for the evaluation of quench temperature profiles and their application for LHC superconducting short dipole magnets

This paper presents a study of the thermal effects on quench performance fo r several large Hadron collider (LHC) single aperture short dipole models. The analysis is based on the temperature profile in a superconducting magne t evaluated after a quench. Peak temperatures and temperature gradients in the magnet coil are estimated for different thicknesses of insulation layer between the quench heaters and the coil and different powering and protect ion parameters. The results show clear correlation between the thermo-mecha nical response of the magnet and quench performance. They also display that the optimisation of the position of quench heaters can reduce the decrease of training performance caused by the coexistence of a mechanical weak reg ion and of a local temperature rise. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.