Electrical and Mechanical Performance of an Enhanced Cable Insulation Scheme for Superconducting Magnets

New polyimide cable insulation schemes improving the cooling of Nb-Ti superconducting coils were recently developed to face the severe heat loads at which the next generation of superconducting accelerator magnets will work. In order to qualify the new insulation, a test campaign was realized to assess both its electrical and mechanical features with respect to the standard LHC insulation. The electrical tests assessed the dielectric strength and inter-turn leakage current to be satisfactory. The mechanical tests investigated the insulation thickness under load and the stress relaxation at ambient temperature, thus providing essential information for the magnetic and mechanical design of the final focusing magnets for the LHC upgrade phase I.