Electromagnetic-thermal-mechanical characteristics with active feedback control in a high-temperature superconducting no-insulation magnet

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets consisting of no-insulation (NI) double-pancake coils (DPCs) with high thermal stability have been proposed for use in the preparation of high-field magnets. However, increased ramp time is a known disadvantage of the NI approach. To solve this problem, a proportional and integral (PI) active feedback control has been proposed in the charging experiments of the NI magnet. In this study, the electromagnetic-thermal-mechanical characteristics of an NI magnet with and without PI are analyzed to ensure the safety and reliability of PI control. Due to the increase in the radial current of the magnet, the turn-to-turn loss energy of the magnet with PI is more than twice that without PI. However, the magnetization loss energy of the magnet has a small difference with and without PI. It can be also found that the NI magnet with PI has a large temperature rise, and thus it has a low thermal stability margin. Moreover, in the high field, the hoop stress and hoop strain peaks of a magnet with PI are larger than those without PI. Thus, PI control can induce a relatively high risk of mechanical damage in the applications of NI magnets.