Shape optimization of high T/sub c/ superconducting magnets

The availability of new high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes makes it possible to realize high-field HTS magnets made of such tapes, wound in "pancake coils" shape. The critical current characteristics of HTS tapes are anisotropic, and specific criteria must be adopted in the optimal design of such HTS magnets, that imply a time-consuming analysis of the magnetic field map at each step of the optimization process. In this paper, a new optimization scheme, able to deal with the HTS high-field magnet design, is presented.