Magnetic Measurements on the First CERN-Built Models of the Insertion Quadrupole MQXF for HL-LHC

The high-luminosity upgrade of the large hadron collider (HL-LHC) requires new high-field and large-aperture quadrupole magnets for the low-beta inner triplets (MQXF). CERN and LARP are currently collaborating to develop a 150-mm-aperture quadrupole based on Nb$_3$Sn superconducting cables for the coils, and an aluminum shell with the bladder-key technology for the support structure. This paper presents the test setup for magnetic measurements, both at ambient and cryogenic temperatures, and the instrumentation being used for the first two short-models of MQXF built and tested at CERN. Finally, the measurement results, in terms of field quality, effects of persistent currents, and iron saturation are reported and discussed.