Abstract-The next generation of superconducting magnets for the interaction regions of particle colliders, as well as for fast cycled accelerators, will be confronted with large heat loads. In order to improve the evacuation of heat from the Nb-Ti coil towards He-II bath, a porous (enhanced) all-polyimide cable insulation scheme was proposed recently. The first results were promising, featuring a larger permeability to helium with respect to existing schemes under low compressive stress. In this paper we present an extended experimental study of heat transfer through the Enhanced Insulation into He-II bath, and comparison to the standard LHC insulation, at different levels of applied pressure. The thermal coupling between adjacent cables was investigated, as well as the impact of a localized heat deposition versus a distributed one. The results of this study show that, up to high pressure levels, the enhanced insulation scheme can provide a major improvement of heat transfer compared to the standard scheme used in the main LHC magnets.Index Terms-Accelerator superconducting magnets, enhanced heat transfer, LHC upgrade phase I, porous cable insulation.

In the years 2009-2013 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been operated with the top beam energies of 3.5 TeV and 4 TeV per proton (from 2012) instead of the nominal 7 TeV. The currents in the superconducting magnets were reduced accordingly. To date only seventeen beam-induced quenches have occurred; eight of them during specially designed quench tests, the others during injection. There has not been a single beaminduced quench during normal collider operation with stored beam. The conditions, however, are expected to become much more challenging after the long LHC shutdown. The magnets will be operating at near nominal currents, and in the presence of high energy and high intensity beams with a stored energy of up to 362 MJ per beam. In this paper we summarize our efforts to understand the quench levels of LHC superconducting magnets. We describe beam-loss events and dedicated experiments with beam, as well as the simulation methods used to reproduce the observable signals. The simulated energy deposition in the coils is compared to the quench levels predicted by electro-thermal models, thus allowing to validate and improve the models which are used to set beam-dump thresholds on beam-loss monitors for Run 2.

a b s t r a c tThe operation of Nb-Ti superconducting magnets in He II relies on superfluidity to overcome the severe thermal barrier represented by the cable electrical insulation. In wrapped cable insulations, like those used for the main magnets of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator, the micro-channels network created by the insulation wrappings allows to efficiently transfer the heat deposited or generated in the cable to the He bath.In this paper, available experimental data of heat transfer through polyimide electrical insulation schemes are analyzed. A steady-state thermal model is developed to describe the insulation of the LHC main dipole magnets and the Enhanced Insulation proposed for the High Luminosity LHC upgrade (HL-LHC), according to the relevant geometric parameters. The model is based on the coupled mechanisms of heat transfer through the bulk of the dielectric insulation and through micro-channels between the insulation tapes.A good agreement is found between calculations and tests performed at different applied pressures and heating configurations. The model allows identifying the heat fluxes in the cable cross-section as well as the dimensions of the micro-channels. These dimensions are confirmed by microscope images of the two insulations schemes.

Abstract-The commissioning and the exploitation of the LHC require a good knowledge of the stability margins of the superconducting magnets with respect to beam induced heat depositions. Previous studies showed that simple numerical models are suitable to carry out stability calculations of multi-strands cables, and highlighted the relevance of the heat transfer model with the surrounding helium. In this paper we present a systematic scan of the stability margin of all types of LHC cables working at 1.9 K against transient heat depositions. We specifically discuss the dependence of the stability margin on the parameters of the model, which provide an estimate of the uncertainty of the values quoted. The stability margin calculations have been performed using a zero-dimensional (0-D) numerical model, and a cooling model taking into account the relevant helium phases which may appear during a stability experiment: it includes Kapitza thermal resistance in superfluid He, boundary layer formation and heat transfer in He I, and considers the transition from nucleating boiling to film boiling during He gas formation.