Mechanical performance of full-scale prototype quadrupole magnets for the SSC

Six 5-m-long prototype quadrupole magnets have been built and cold-tested at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory for the Superconducting Super Collider. The authors report on the mechanical behavior of the magnets, focusing on measurements made during cold-testing. Each of the magnets contained instrumentation to monitor the mechanical performance on the magnets during assembly and cold-testing. In addition, the instrumentation was used along with physical measurements as aids during magnet assembly. Quantities measured include coil pressures during assembly, cooldown, and magnet energization; axial thermal contraction of the magnets during cooldown; and axial force transmitted to the magnet end-plates. For the most part, mechanical measurements have proven repeatable and agree well with analysis.< >