Smart CORC® Magnet Cables Containing Optical Fibers for Quench Detection

There is a need to develop large magnet systems for fusion and high-energy physics experiments using high-temperature superconductors. These materials allow the magnets to operate at higher magnetic fields and at higher temperatures. They also allow fusion magnets to become demountable, which allows for easier access to the reactor for servicing. One major problem is that magnets wound from high-temperature superconductors are very difficult to protect when a local hotspot develops somewhere in the magnet cable. There are currently no practical methods to detect a local hotspot in time to power down the magnet. This proposal seeks to develop high-temperature superconducting magnet cables that contain optical fibers able to detect very small local hotspots in the cable as soon as they occur. These cables and their ability to detect quenches will result in a much safer operation of large magnet systems made from high-temperature superconductors. During Phase I, we will determine the feasibility of incorporating optical fibers in high-temperature superconducting cables without damaging them. We will test the ability of the fiber to detect a local hotspot in the cable.