A Numerical Study of Quench in the NHMFL 32 T Magnet

The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), Tallahassee, FL, USA, has developed, built, tested, and commissioned a 32 T all-superconducting user magnet system combining two series-connected high-field high-temperature superconductor (HTS) nested inner coils (insert) wound with SuperPower, Inc. REBCO tapes and a low temperature superconducting (LTS) outer magnet (outsert) composed of five coils (subdivided into 17 electrical sections). Protected-quench tests were performed at the NHMFL to analyze the reliability of the 32 T magnet during the superconducting-to-normal transition. The quench tests were performed at different values of transport current both in the HTS insert and in the LTS outsert. The University of Bologna, in collaboration with the NHMFL, has developed a quasi-3-D FE model suited for the analysis of quench in HTS magnets. The model was previously applied to the analysis of the experimental results of the quench tests carried out on the prototype coils, manufactured in the framework of the 32 T magnet R&D activities. In this paper, the numerical model is applied to analyze the quench initiation and propagation in the 32 T HTS insert. The dump of the transport current during quench is computed and compared with the experimental result. The most stressed regions within the insert windings are identified.