Quench Characteristics of Full-Length SSC R&D Dipole Magnets

Several 17-meter-long SSC R&D dipole magnets, instrumented with numerous voltage taps on the inner quarter coils, have been tested. These magnets, protected with quench heaters, differed in mechanical details as well as in the cables used for the winding. The voltage taps enabled us to measure longitudinal and azimuthal quench propagation velocities. Summary plots of these velocities are presented showing that, even though the Fourier conduction model doesn’t apply, the mechanism of the quench is reproducible from magnet to magnet. Correlations are established between the velocities and the fraction of short sample. After showing that for currents higher than 5000 A the magnet is self-protected, we investigate the relation between the number of MIITs and the quench characteristics.