Containment vessel for use with a pulsed magnet system and method of manufacturing same

Abstract

A cryogenic containment vessel for use with a pulsed superconducting magnet system includes a superconducting coil positioned within the cryogenic containment vessel for providing a magnetic field. The containment vessel includes a relatively thin metallic inner tube for holding liquid helium and the coil. The containment vessel also includes a relatively thick outer tube encompassing the inner tube with a relatively rigid insulative spacer positioned between the inner and outer tubes so that the tubes are not in contact with each other. The outer tube is predominantly metallic and has at least one joint formed of insulative material to prevent the outer tube from forming a low electrical resistance loop. The inner tube provides a vacuum seal and the outer tube provides structural support for the inner tube so that eddy current losses resulting from ramping of the current to the coil are reduced. A method of fabricating the containment vessel is also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.