Berkeley Lab

US-MDP Goals

These are the four overall goals by which the program addresses the driving questions of the field.

GOAL 1: Explore the performance limits of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) accelerator magnets with a focus on minimizing the required operating margin and significantly reducing or eliminating training.

GOAL 2: Develop and demonstrate a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) accelerator magnet with a self-field of 5 T or greater compatible with operation in a hybrid LTS/HTS magnet for fields beyond 16 T.

GOAL 3: Investigate fundamental aspects of magnet design and technology that can lead to substantial performance improvements and magnet cost reduction.

GOAL 4: Pursue Nb3Sn and HTS conductor R&D with clear targets to increase performance and reduce the cost of accelerator magnets.

Four Elements of Achieving the Goals

These goals will be achieved by focusing on four elements of high-field dipole development:

ELEMENT 1: Establishment of a baseline design to demonstrate feasibility of 16-tesla magnets and reduce cost.

ELEMENT 2: Feasibility assessment of accelerator magnets based on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) materials.

ELEMENT 3: A supporting program of science and technology development that serves as the core of the MDP. This component will provide a means of exploring new design concepts, instrumentation, diagnostics and fabrication techniques in a controlled and cost-effective way. The “model” magnets (typically full transverse scale and partial length, compared to actual accelerator magnets) will serve as platforms for integration of the results of these ongoing activities.

ELEMENT 4: A conductor development program that challenges existing strand and cable performance parameters and is driven by the magnet R&D goals, in support of the three elements described above.