Qualification of the Bypass Continuity of the Main Dipole Magnet Circuits of the LHC

The copper-stabilizer continuity measurement (CSCM) was devised in order to attain complete electrical qualification of all busbar joints, lyres, and the magnet bypass connections in the 13~kA circuits of the LHC. A CSCM is carried out at 20 K, i.e., just above the critical temperature, with resistive magnets. The circuit is then subject to an incremental series of controlled powering cycles, ultimately mimicking the decay from nominal current in the event of a magnet quench. A type test to prove the validity of such a procedure was carried out with success in April 2013, leading to the scheduling of a CSCM on all main dipole circuits up to and including 11.1 kA, i.e., the current equivalent of 6.5 TeV operation. This paper details the procedure, with respect to the type test, as well as the results and analyses of the LHC-wide qualification campaign.