Magnet coil electrical gaskets of high compliance and ampacity

Coils employed in the magnets of the PHENIX Detector, presently under construction for RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, are massive (weight similar to 8000 kG each). For that reason we subdivided them into a series of manageable subcoils that we will subsequently bolt together. Electrical terminals attached to the subcoils conductors are rigidly embedded and precisely located during vacuum impregnation. However; we anticipate some miss-alignment and nonuniform gaping to occur between terminals at assembly. We have elected to use electrical gaskets of high compliance and ampacity between the bolted terminals to enhance the current carrying capability of the electrical joints. This paper describes the material candidates selected, the tests performed, and the relative ranking of the materials tested.