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Title: Measurements of retractable gas-cooled 6061 aluminum electrical leads operating in a vacuum

Abstract

To charge and discharge the ASTROMAG superconducting magnet in space requires retractable gas-cooled leads which must operate in a vacuum. This report describes the design and test of 500 ampere retractable gas-cooled leads made from 6061-T4 aluminum tubes. Aluminum is attractive for gas-cooled electrical leads in space because of its low mass density and the desire for short leads. Initial tests showed that retractable gas-cooled leads could operate in a vacuum from a source of normal helium. The pressure drop through the leads was low enough to permit a superconducting magnet to be charged and discharged while the leads vent into space. The leads were stable at currents above 700 amperes. The voltage drop across the contact between the upper and lower leads was as low as 1.2 mV per lead out of a total voltage drop of 42 mV per lead when the leads carried 714 amperes. The gas required for cooling was comparable to the more conventional copper gas-cooled current leads. In a second test seven months later, the contact resistance between the lead sections had increased considerably. In the second test, the contact resistance was repeatable for one lead but not for the other. 6 refs., 2more » figs.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE, Washington, DC (USA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
5638136
Report Number(s):
LBL-30785; CONF-910635-3; ASTROMAG-035
ON: DE91014617
DOE Contract Number:  
AC03-76SF00098
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: Cryogenic engineering conference and international cryogenic materials conference, Huntsville, AL (United States), 11-14 Jun 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS; COOLING; ALUMINIUM ALLOYS; CRYOGENICS; CRYOPUMPS; FEASIBILITY STUDIES; FLUID FLOW; HEAT TRANSFER; HELIUM; TESTING; TUBES; ALLOYS; ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT; ELECTROMAGNETS; ELEMENTS; ENERGY TRANSFER; EQUIPMENT; FLUIDS; GASES; LABORATORY EQUIPMENT; MAGNETS; NONMETALS; PUMPS; RARE GASES; SUPERCONDUCTING DEVICES; VACUUM PUMPS; 420201* - Engineering- Cryogenic Equipment & Devices; 360104 - Metals & Alloys- Physical Properties

Citation Formats

Green, M A, Aguiar, H, Bensadoun, M J, Gibson, J H, Heine, D L, Levin, S, Limon, M, Smoot, G F, and Witebsky, C. Measurements of retractable gas-cooled 6061 aluminum electrical leads operating in a vacuum. United States: N. p., 1991. Web.
Green, M A, Aguiar, H, Bensadoun, M J, Gibson, J H, Heine, D L, Levin, S, Limon, M, Smoot, G F, & Witebsky, C. Measurements of retractable gas-cooled 6061 aluminum electrical leads operating in a vacuum. United States.
Green, M A, Aguiar, H, Bensadoun, M J, Gibson, J H, Heine, D L, Levin, S, Limon, M, Smoot, G F, and Witebsky, C. 1991. "Measurements of retractable gas-cooled 6061 aluminum electrical leads operating in a vacuum". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5638136.
@article{osti_5638136,
title = {Measurements of retractable gas-cooled 6061 aluminum electrical leads operating in a vacuum},
author = {Green, M A and Aguiar, H and Bensadoun, M J and Gibson, J H and Heine, D L and Levin, S and Limon, M and Smoot, G F and Witebsky, C},
abstractNote = {To charge and discharge the ASTROMAG superconducting magnet in space requires retractable gas-cooled leads which must operate in a vacuum. This report describes the design and test of 500 ampere retractable gas-cooled leads made from 6061-T4 aluminum tubes. Aluminum is attractive for gas-cooled electrical leads in space because of its low mass density and the desire for short leads. Initial tests showed that retractable gas-cooled leads could operate in a vacuum from a source of normal helium. The pressure drop through the leads was low enough to permit a superconducting magnet to be charged and discharged while the leads vent into space. The leads were stable at currents above 700 amperes. The voltage drop across the contact between the upper and lower leads was as low as 1.2 mV per lead out of a total voltage drop of 42 mV per lead when the leads carried 714 amperes. The gas required for cooling was comparable to the more conventional copper gas-cooled current leads. In a second test seven months later, the contact resistance between the lead sections had increased considerably. In the second test, the contact resistance was repeatable for one lead but not for the other. 6 refs., 2 figs.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5638136}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991},
month = {Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991}
}

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