Towards Better Quality Assurance of the Electrical Integrity of Superconducting Accelerator Magnets

Production, assembling and operation of the superconducting (SC) accelerator magnets are substantially different than that of conventional accelerators. A properly designed set of actions addressing the electrical integrity at all stages of SC magnet lifecycle i.e. its design, testing, installation and operation are expected to shorten the commissioning phase and to extend the lifetime of the accelerator, also reducing the time for interventions during operation of magnet circuits. A coherent approach to the integrity of electrical circuits is crucial for their lifetime and safe operation. The coherent Electrical Quality Assurance (ELQA) strategy shall span the design, production, testing and operation of the accelerator. The lack of such strategy can cause the investigation and mitigation of electrical faults during final testing of magnet circuits and operation very difficult and ineffective as at this point the possibilities are significantly reduced as compared to the potential of earlier phases. This paper aims to present the main elements of the ELQA from the perspective of the electrical engineering. Presented strategy is based on several years of experience with testing of SC magnets. In the authors' opinion, the implementation of the proposed strategy at the early stage of a project is decisive to protect against and effectively cope with the electrical problems in complex systems like SC accelerator magnet circuits.