Design study of a superconducting 120"-diameter magnetic matrix separator

A design study was performed to demonstrate the advantages of a supercritical forced flow helium (SFFHe) cooling system for superconducting coils over the liquid helium (LHe) bath cooling system used with previously built superconducting matrix separators. It is shown that cooling with SFFHe has distinct advantages over LHe bath cooling. Avoiding the LHe bath container reduces eddy current losses at low temperature and thus reduces operating costs. Simple coil and coil container construction offers a rigid coil, good accessibility, and cheap maintenance. A standby helium compressor and extra expansion turbines offer reliable uninterrupted operation.<
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