Simple Multi-physics analysis to understand quench behavior of HTS Magnets

Due to the high Current and Magnetic Field demands required to maintain plasma confinement for fusion, Conventional Copper coils can only be operated for very brief pulse reactions before needing to enter a long cool-down period such as that in the National Spherical Torus Experiment(NSTX) and NSTX-Upgrade (NSTX-U) operation. High-Temperature Superconductors (HTS) are considered game-changing for long pulse or steady-state operation of compact fusion reactors as an enabling technology to access higher fields and longer pulse operations. HTS will run efficiently with no electrical resistance so long as they are operated under their critical current limits to avoid causing an issue known as quench. To better understand how to manage this quench and associated stress issue in superconducting magnets, COMSOL Multiphysics is used to develop a virtual engineering environment for finite element analysis of quench (thermal and mechanical behavior) in superconducting magnets along with Livelink to MATLAB.