HD1: design and fabrication of a 16 Tesla Nb3Sn dipole magnet

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Superconducting Magnet Group has completed the design, fabrication and test of HD1, a 16 T block-coil dipole magnet. State of the art Nb₃Sn conductor was wound in double-layer racetrack coils and supported by an iron yoke and a tensioned aluminum shell. In order to prevent conductor movement under magnetic forces up to the design field, a coil pre-stress of 150 MPa was required. To achieve this level without damaging the brittle conductor, the target stress was generated during cool-down to 4.2 K by exploiting the thermal contraction differentials between yoke and shell. Accurate control of the shell tension during assembly was obtained using pressurized bladders and interference load keys. An integrated 3D CAD model was used to optimize magnetic and mechanical design and analysis.