New 2D Thermal Model Applied to an LHC Inner Triplet Quadrupole Magnet

A newly developed numerical model is presented that enables to compute two-dimensional heat transfer and temperature distributions over the cross-section of superconducting accelerator magnets. The entire thermal path from strand-in-cable to heat sink, including helium channels is considered. Superfluid helium properties are combined with temperature- and field-dependent non-linear solid material properties. Interfacial interactions are also taken into account. The model is applied to the cross-section of an inner triplet quadrupole magnet featuring a new concept for the ground insulation. Beam loss profiles are implemented as main heat source. It is concluded that operational margins can be considerably increased by opening additional thermal paths, improving the cooling conditions.