HTS Power Lead Testing at the Fermilab Magnet Test Facility

Abstract

The Fermilab Magnet Test Facility has tested high-temperature superconductor (HTS) power leads for cryogenic feed boxes to be placed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) interaction regions and at the new BTeV C0 interaction region of the Fermilab Tevatron. A new test facility was designed and operated, successfully testing 20 pairs of HTS power leads for the LHC and 2 pairs of HTS power leads for the BTeV experiment. This paper describes the design and operation of the cryogenics, process controls, data acquisition, and quench management systems. Results from the facility commissioning are included, as is the performance of a new insulation method to prevent frost accumulation on the warm ends of the power leads.