Cryostat design for the superconducting super collider

The cryostat of an SSC dipole magnet consists of all magnet components except the cold mass assembly. It serves to support the cold mass accurately and reliably within the vacuum vessel, provide all required cryogenic piping, and to insulate the cold mass from heat radiated and conducted from the environment. It must function reliably during storage, shipping and handling, normal magnet operation, quenches, and seismic excitations and must be manufacturable at low cost. The major components of the cryostat are the vacuum vessel, thermal shields, multilayer insulation (MLI) system, cryogenic piping, interconnections, and suspension system. The overall design of a cryostat for superconducting accelerator magnets requires consideration of fluid flow, proper selection of materials for their thermal and structural performance at both ambient and operating temperature, and knowledge of the environment to which the magnets will be subjected over the course their 25 year expected life. This paper describes the design of the current SSC collider dipole magnet cryostat and includes discussions on the thermal, structural, and dynamic considerations involved in the development of each of the major systems