| Some of the interesting features of MgB2 such as low cost, compatibility with existing processing methods and intermediate critical temperatures induced the scientific community to invest in its development with large efforts.;In addition to wire development, investigation of the so-called quench events is needed. Quench detection and protection systems depend on how fast the normal zone propagates through the coil, after a disturbance occurs. During this doctorate program two codes were developed. The first is designed to compute the magnetic field of a multilayer solenoid, find the maximum field the superconductor is exposed to and define the critical quench current. Results are used to minimize the wire length required to reach the desired magnetic field. The second code simulates quench events by solving the heat transfer equation for a monodimensional case under adiabatic conditions.;Among others, two solenoids were built and tested in order to investigate quench events under different conditions. The first was made with 500 m of commercial MgB2 tape and generates up to 1 T at 16 K. The second was wound with 40 m of the same tape. This thesis was supported by the State of Texas through the Texas Center for Superconductivity and by Ad Astra Rocket company (Houston, TX).;In order to promote the use of this compound for military and aerospace activities requiring lightweight devices, we tested titanium as a sheath material. We fabricated Ti-sheathed MgB2 through the powder-in-tube (PIT) process. These wires showed similar results to those sheathed with steel. At 4 K and self field, the critical current density Jc is well above 7x105 A/cm2. Analyses of the interface reaction layer between titanium and MgB2 were carried out using XRD, SEM-EDS and EMPA equipment. |
