Upgraded coil configuration for ISABELLE magnets

Achievement of the design field of 5 T in the ISABELLE dipole magnets is turning out to be more arduous than expected and several avenues of improvement are being pursued. One possibility for improving training and peak field performance is discussed in this paper. It has been recognized that the inert spacers with their adjacent active turns in the cosine magnet windings can be replaced by a double thickness braid operating at approximately half-current density in 46 of the 190 turns. Since the high-field region occurs in the low current density turns near the poles, a performance improvement can be expected. It has been verified that the proposed coil configuration satisfies the field requirements and details thereof are given. Results from an experimental magnet in which superconducting spacer turns are used to simulate half-current density windings are presented. Construction of thick braid coils is being planned and the status of these magnets is reviewed.