Investigations on NbTi superconducting racetrack coils under pulsed-current excitations

One of the key issues in the technology of superconductors is the protection against quenches. When designing a superconductor as a magnet, a coil or even current leads, the design should be made such that the superconductor withstands all operational conditions, especially those occurring rapidly, as fast discharges or pulsed loads. A model for a superconducting racetrack coil based on NbTi winding is investigated under pulsed transport current conditions (zero external field) utilizing finite element analysis within the Simulia Opera platform. A pulse duration of a few milliseconds and a peak current exceeding 1 kA is yielded by discharging a capacitor into an RLC circuit that includes the superconductor coil as an element. A quench multi-physics analysis has been performed comprising both thermal and electromagnetic solutions. The transition to normal state and quench occurrence has agreed with the expected critical curve together with the load-line estimated for the existing coil geometry.