Structural design and test of superconducting magnet coil for the cooling storage ring external-target experiment

Abstract

Heavy ion collision is an unique method for studying cold and dense nuclear matter in labs. The Cooling Storage Ring (CSR) External-target Experiment (CEE) at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL), China, is the first multi-purpose nuclear physics experimental device to operate in the GeV energy range. One of the key parts is a large acceptance dipole magnet, which is used to bend particles so that they can be detected by various detectors. A superconducting coil with the size of 3.1 m ×3.6 m × 2 m was designed to verify the rationality of the scheme. Although the coil-dominated superconducting magnet with NbTi has been used to reduce the weight and size of the magnet, large deformation and stress will occur in the cooldown and excitation stages owing to the large volume and weight. Therefore, it is crucial to design a reasonable structure to ensure the strength of the magnet and prevent the magnet from interfering with other components due to large deformation, and even the possibility of quenching. A truss supporter is proposed for the support of the superconducting coil. In this study, the structural design of the cold mass of a superconducting magnet is introduced, and its mechanical behaviors during cooldown and excitation are analyzed in detail. To verify the feasibility of the coil design and process route, a sub-size prototype was manufactured and tested at 4.2 K and reached the design current successfully.