Relation between radial stress and quench current for tightly wound dry solenoids

Premature quenches in superconducting solenoids, wound by Formvar coated NbTi conductors, has been studied. Radial compression between winding layers is supposed to be essential to suppress conductor motions; the relation between radial stress distribution in the winding and quench current is investigated by experiment for a model magnet. The result is discussed based on the stress calculation and frictional characteristics of the Formvar coated conductor.