Systematic failure testing of internally reinforced magnets

Internally reinforced pulse magnets provide a useful and relatively cheap method for obtaining magnetic fields in the 50-75 T range. A serious shortcoming however is the nature of a magnet failure, being extremely destructive to both the magnet and the immediate environment. Despite extensive modeling, the accurate prediction of the ultimate field that a particular magnet design will reach or the number of pulses it will undergo, remains difficult due to the number of unknowns about the thermo-mechanical behavior of the various constituent materials. A systematic study of the behavior of pulse magnets is underway at the NHMFL. A number of magnets of identical construction have been tested to failure in an attempt to determine such aspects as reproducibility of failure, modeling code accuracy and insulation integrity at high stress levels