SUPERCONDUCTING SOLENOIDS9 Superconducting solenoid magnets can produce very
large magnetic fields up to ~ 15 T or so, whereas the magnetic fields available from a ferromagnetic
core solenoid is limited to ~2 T. High field magnets used in magnetic resonance
imaging are based on superconducting solenoids wound using a superconducting wire. They
are operated around 4 K with expensive liquid helium as the cryogen. These superconducting
wires are typically NbaSn or NbTi alloy filaments embedded in a copper matrix. A very large
current, several hundred amperes, is passed through the solenoid winding to obtain the necessary
high magnetic fields. There is, of course, no Joule heating once the current is flowing in
the superconducting state. The main problem is the large forces and hence stresses in the coil
due to large currents. Two wires carrying currents in the opposite direction repel each other,
and the force is proportional to /2
. Thus the magnetic forces between the wires of the coil give
rise to outward radial forces trying to "blow open" the solenoid, as depicted in Figure 8.53.
The forces between neighboring wires are attractive and hence give rise to compressional
forces squeezing the solenoid axially. The solenoid has to have a proper mechanical support
structure around it to prevent mechanical fracture and failure due to large forces between the
windings. The copper matrix serves as mechanical support to cushion against the stresses as
well as a good thermal conductor in the event that superconductivity is inadvertently lost during
operation.
Suppose that we have a superconducting solenoid that is 10 cm in diameter and 1 m in
length and has 500 turns ofNbaSn wire, whose critical field Bc at 4.2 K (liquid He temperature)
is about 20 T and critical current density Jc is 3 x 106 A cm-2. What is the current necessary to
set up a field of 5 T at the center of a solenoid? What is the approximate energy stored in the