A modified coil winding machine for small-diameter wire being used to enable higher packing densities for the superconducting magnets.

This superconducting magnet developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center comprises a superconducting wire wound in adjacent turns about a mandrel to form the superconducting magnet; a thermally conductive potting material configured to fill interstices between the adjacent turns; and a voltage limiting device disposed across each end of the superconducting wire, and is configured to prevent a voltage excursion across the superconducting wire during quench of the superconducting magnet. The thermally conductive potting material and the superconducting wire provide a path for dissipation of heat.

The magnet has a very high field-to-current ratio of 1.1 Tesla/Ampere, is small and lightweight and capable of achieving high magnetic field strengths at low currents, can be cooled down rapidly without risk of damaging the wiring, can be ramped up and down in field at very high rates, generates a minimum amount of hysteresis heat, and has minimized heat load upon a cryogenic system from the leads because less current is required to generate a given magnetic field.

Applications include MRI machines, mass spectrometers, and particle accelerators.

NASA is actively seeking licensees to commercialize this technology. Please contact the Strategic Partnerships Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to initiate licensing discussions. Follow this link for more information: http://technology.nasa.gov/patent/TB2016/GSC-TOPS-5 .