High-Current Bus Splice Resistances and Implications for the Operating Energy of the LHC

At each interconnection between LHC main magnets a low-resistance solder joint must be made between superconducting cables in order to provide a continuous current path through the superconductor and also to the surrounding copper stabilizer in case the cable quenches [1]. About 10,000 such joints exist in the LHC. An extensive campaign has been undertaken to characterize and map the resistances of these joints. All of the superconducting cable splices were measured at 1.9 K and no splices were found with a resistance larger than 3 nW. Non-invasive measurements of the stabilizer joints were made at 300 K in 5 of the 8 sectors, and at 80 K in 3 sectors. More precise local measurements were made on suspect interconnects that were opened up, and poor joints were repaired. However, it is likely that additional imperfect stabilizer joints still exist in the LHC. A statistical analysis is used to place bounds on the remaining worst-case resistances. This sets limits on the maximum operating energy of the LHC, prior to a more extensive intervention [2].