The effect of coolant loss on current leads for superconducting magnets

In this paper, the recovery of current leads for superconducting magnets after loss of coolant is examined. It is found that if a lead is without cooling for longer than a time in which a lead can completely lose coolant and still recover, thermal runaway can be prevented by an increase in cooling or a decrease in current through the lead. It is evident that designing a lead away from its optimal values can make the lead significantly less susceptible to problems of thermal runaway.