Development of Industrially Produced Composite Quench Heaters for the LHC Superconducting Lattice Magnets

The quench heaters are vital elements for the protection of the LHC superconducting lattice magnets in the case of resistive transitions of the conductor. The basic concept of magnet protection and technical solutions are briefly presented. The quench heater consists of partially copper clad stainless steel strips sandwiched in between electric insulating carrier foils with electrical and mechanical properties such as to withstand high voltages, low temperatures, pressures and ionizing radiation. Testing of some commercial available electric insulation foils, polyimide (PI), polyetheretherketon (PEEK) and polyarylate (PA) and combinations of adhesive systems which are suitable for industrial processing are described. Possible industrial methods for series production for some 80 km of these composite quench heaters are indicated.