Quench propagation and stability analysis of Rutherford resistive core cables

The complex phenomena occurring in superconducting cables involve thermal, electromagnetic, fluid-dynamic and mechanical problems that require multiphysics analysis codes. In this paper varied methods of analysis are studied, comparing a detailed model of a resistive core Rutherford cable with simplified models, in order to show at what extent the simplified models can be applied. The detailed model considers every single strand and its core as thermal and electric independent elements, while in the simplified models equivalent electric and thermal parameters are calculated to group several strands into equivalent superstrands. The minimum quench energy and quench propagation velocities are taken as parameters for the comparison, evaluating the scaling of the numerical results with the number of electric and thermal elements considered. Computation times for the different models are compared, indicating possible ways to reduce the numerical burden and making desired accuracies. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.