A structured approach to analyze the influence of channel dimensions on heat extraction via superfluid helium

For the luminosity upgrade of the LHC at CERN, the final focusing quadrupole magnets will be exposed to an increased energy deposition in their coil windings. To have a higher heat transfer rate between cable and superfluid helium bath, the cable insulation has been subject of many studies. Improved cable insulation designs, making use of several layers of Kapton tape wound around Rutherford type cables, allow helium to penetrate via micro-channels, which are left open between adjacent Kapton tape sections. To better understand the thermal behaviour at operating temperatures below and some degrees above the helium lambda transition, besides experimental work, several numerical models have been developed to study the influence of the cable insulation. Here we present a new numerical model based on an earlier presented FEM model, which makes use of coupling variables such that the user can easily and quickly change the parameters of interest, giving the possibility to analyse new ideas effectively. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ICEC 25-ICMC 2014.