Superconducting magnet quench protection analysis and design

A three-dimensional simulation of the quench thermal transient in a multicoil magnet system is described which includes circuit equations for induced secondary current transients and magnet subdivision by resistors and switching devices. Thus, the magnet designer can study the quench protection of a superconducting magnet and select the optimal protection scheme utilizing heat transfer enhancement, resistive subdivision, circuit branch switching, quench propagation heaters, coupled secondaries, and cowound stabilizers. Transient thermal profiles are available for subsequent evaluation in terms of thermal stress. An example system is modeled, and the appropriate quench protection scheme is discussed.