Numerical Winding Model for the Analysis of Superconducting Insert Coils

The process of quench development in a single conductor, e.g., in a high temperature superconducting tape, is governed by its physical properties. In a superconducting magnet coil the addition of insulating materials and the way in which the coils are thermally anchored also play an important role in the thermal stability and quench behavior of the system. Previous quench modeling works using commercial software are mostly based on anisotropic continuum medium approximation, where the coil is considered as an effective media representing the average physical properties of the individual layers. While such models allow the reduction of model size with symmetry considerations, they become invalid for small insert coils or for conductors with a high proportion of stabilizer. In addition they cannot be integrated with thermal, mechanical and electromagnetic multiphysics where the discrete winding structure is relevant. The present work describes a parametrically-generated, 3-D model with full representation of the winding structure of the superconducting coil. The geometric generation of the model allows easy meshing of the whole coil, including the insulation. The application cases and limitations of this model are discussed.