Degradation of the Insulation of the LHC Main Dipole Cable when Exposed to High Temperatures

The energy stored in the LHC beams is substantial and requires a complex machine protection system to protect the equipment. Despite efficient beam absorbers, several failure modes lead to some limited beam impact on superconducting magnets. Thus it is required to understand the damage mechanisms and limits of superconducting magnets due to instantaneous beam impact. This becomes even more important due to the future upgrade of CERNs injector chain for the LHC that will lead to an increase of the beam brightness. A roadmap to perform damage tests on magnet parts has been presented previously*. The polyimide insulation of the superconducting cable is identified as one of the critical elements of the magnet. In this contribution, the experimental setup to measure the insulation degradation of LHC main dipole cables due to exposure to high temperature is described. Compressed stacks of insulated Nb-Ti cables have been exposed to a heat treatment within an Argon atmosphere. After each heat treatment, high-voltage measurements verified the dielectric strength of the insulation. The results of this experiment provide an upper damage limit of superconducting magnets due to beam impact.