Temperature Profiles During Quenches in LHC Superconducting Dipole Magnets Protected by Quench Heaters

The efficiency of the magnet protection by quench heaters was studied using a novel method which derives the temperature profile in a superconducting magnet during a quench from measured voltage signals. In several Large Hadron Collider single aperture dipole models, temperature profiles and temperature gradients in the magnet coil have been evaluated in the case of protection by different sets of quench heaters and different powering and protection parameters. The influence of the insulation thickness between the quench heaters and the coil has also been considered. The results show clear correlation between the positions of quench heaters, magnet protection parameters and temperature profiles. This study allowed a better understanding of the quench process mechanisms and the efficiency assessment of the different protection schemes.