Characterization of the Mechanical Properties of Nb3Sn Coils

The 11 T magnet and other high-field magnets in the framework of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider project are based on epoxy resin impregnated Nb3Sn coils. This paper presents the development of an experimental measurement setup, and associated methodology for the determination of the mechanical properties in compression of epoxy resin impregnated Nb3Sn coils. The challenges addressed include the nonlinear compliance correction in complex compression testing. The application of these techniques is demonstrated by the experimental characterization of the compression behavior of 11 T coils.