Extending the Use of HTS to Feeders in Superconducting Magnet Systems

Following the successful adoption of high temperature superconductors (HTS) in over a thousand current leads that will feed 3 MA from warm to cold in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the use of HTS has been generally accepted as suitable technology for the design of efficient leads feeding cryo-magnets. We now consider the extension of the technology to the interconnection of strings of superconducting magnets and their connection to feed-boxes through which the excitation current is fed. It is proposed to use HTS material for this application instead of low-temperature superconductor or normal-conducting material. The implications of adopting this technology are discussed with regard to the choice of materials, highlighting the differences with more conventional schemes. Examples are given of how this approach could be applied to the consolidation and upgrade of the LHC.