Superconducting Magnet Systems

Abstract Superconducting magnets are one of the most important and expensive part of reactor-scale tokamaks. Severe operating conditions such as a strong magnetic field, operational current and mechanical load, significant rate of field and current variation, nuclear heating and thermal load, impose specific requirements on the superconducting coil design. This chapter presents the theoretical basis and technical solutions for the different stages of the ITER coil production: the design and manufacturing of composite NbTi and Nb3Sn strands; multistage twisted cable fabrication and jacketing; and the coil winding, insulation and heat treatment. The major technical solutions and manufacturing processes were verified in the course of the ITER model coil test program. Original computation techniques and an integrated set of models for predictive and parametric thermal–hydraulic simulations of the superconducting magnets of magnetic fusion reactor were developed and implemented in computer codes Vincenta/Venecia. The codes and numerical models have been adopted as numerical tools for the complex analysis of the ITER magnets and the cryogenic system.