超流動ヘリウムによる超電導マグネットの冷却 (その1)

抄録

This paper outlines the cooling by He II for the cryogenic stabilization of superconducting magnets. He II as a coolant is provided in order to achieve one or both two chief aims: 1) the enhancement of a generable magnetic field caused by the increment in the critical current density and in the upper critical field, and 2) the promotion of the stabilization attributed to improvements of thermal properties of the liquid helium. These will compensate the high cost of the refrigeration and the complexity of the dewar structure, which are encountered on lowering the temperature. And these will play a very important role in big projects which equip superconducting magnets with intensive magnetic fields such as toroidal field magnets of a fusion reactor. In such projects, compact-size magnets are particularly desirable because they fit into a limited space, leaving enough space for the reinforced structural materials. Only He II can attain this objective without reducing the stability of superconducting magnets. Furthermore, in a temperature region of He II more intensive magnetic fields than 10 Tesla can be brought about by the use of a ductile superconducting Nb-Ti alloy instead of a brittle intermetallic compound.
In the text, we begin with a study on the characteristics of the superconductor in the temperature region of He II as compared with those at 4.2K. Next, we make reference to the superiorities of the thermal properties (heat transfer, heat transport and heat capacity) of He II in comparison with the normal boiling liquid helium at 4.2K.
The transient effect of heat transfer and of the heat transport in He II is touched upon from the view point of stabilization against an instantaneous disturbance.