Numerical Evaluation on Irregular Field Generated by Screening Current in High-Field REBCO Coil for Whole-Body MRI

In recent years, high-field magnets wound with RE-BCO tape and their applications to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have undergone considerable research and development. MRI coil systems require a highly accurate field in the imaging space. However, in REBCO coils, the irregular magnetic field generated by the screening current is induced by the radial component of the magnetic field in the REBCO tape, and may deteriorate the field quality both spatially and temporally. Therefore, a design process with consideration for the effect of the screening-current field is required for the reduction and correction of this field for a high-accuracy-field REBCO coil. In this study, the screening-current distribution in the REBCO tape and the irregular magnetic field were analyzed by using the simulation we developed for a REBCO model coil system for whole-body MRI. We additionally discuss the effect of the screening-current field in the REBCO coil based on the coil shape and arrangement to use it as feedback to the design stage.