A design concept for the LHC insertion quadrupoles

It is noted that the low- beta insertion optics imposes severe constraints on the desired characteristics of the local quadrupoles. In order to obtain the necessary degree of focusing at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider), triplets made up of four 250 T/m superconducting quadrupoles, about 6- to 7-m long, are presently envisaged. The large value of the betatron functions through these magnets is such that, besides being the principal source of chromatic aberrations, errors in their gradient will also contribute significantly to the excitation of resonance in the circulating beams. The magnets should therefore provide a gradient field of very high quality. The relatively small number of quadrupoles involved means that the cost constraints are less binding on these than on the lattice magnets. Their single aperture also opens up the possibility of an approach different from that adopted for the regular twin-aperture quadrupoles. One of the design concepts being investigated involves the use of flat cable wound in rectangular blocks to approximate the required quadrupole producing current density. The characteristics of the magnet are described, as is the method of applying the required prestress to the winding.<>