Quench back in thin superconducting solenoid magnets

Superconducting magnets with well coupled, low resistance, secondary circuits have been observed to become fully normal faster than quench propagation in the coil would permit. This process is referred to as ‘quench back’. Quench back observed at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) was caused by heating the secondary circuit from the current induced from the primary circuit as normal region in the superconducting coil propagated. This paper develops the theory for thermal quench back in thin solenoid magnets and compares this theory with measurements made in two one-meter diameter superconducting solenoid magnets.