Magnetic Field Analysis and Shielding of Components for the Material Plasma Exposure Experiment

Earle E. Burkhardt; Robert C. Duckworth; Mike Kaufman; Adam Aaron; Aftab Hussain; Craig Deibele

doi:10.1109/TASC.2025.3619907

Magnetic Field Analysis and Shielding of Components for the Material Plasma Exposure Experiment

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Abstract

The magnet system for the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) provides the necessary field profile to enable radio-frequency (rf) source and heating along the length in order to meet the desired key performance parameters (KPPs) at the target area. In addition to the magnet system, MPEX has other systems (vacuum, diagnostics, rf source and heating) that operate in close proximity and require shielding solutions that have to be optimized with respect to location and their potential impact on magnet operation. Six magnetic or magnetically sensitive components near the magnets have been analyzed including structural steel beams used to support the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter system, motors located on the helicon and ion-cyclotron heating (ICH) plasma heating boxes, the Target Exchange Cart (TEC), the electron-cyclotron heating (ECH) gyrotron, the Surface Analysis Station (SAS) which includes a field-sensitive mass spectrometer, and infra-red and visible cameras for diagnostics. Using finite element modeling, the impact on each component is assessed and shielding solutions presented for each component. Verification of performance in a local magnet test stand was carried out to validate modeling and confirm the ability of the component to operate in a limited number of cases.

Original language	English
Article number	4201605
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
Volume	36
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2025.3619907
State	Published - May 2026

Funding

Received 28 July 2025; revised 24 September 2025 and 3 October 2025; accepted 3 October 2025. Date of publication 22 December 2025; date of current version 30 December 2025. This work was supported by UT-Battelle, LLC, through US Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. (Corresponding author: Earle Burkhardt.) The authors are with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 USA (e-mail: [email protected]). This work was supported by UT-Battelle, LLC, through US Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

Keywords

Fusion magnets
plasma applications
superconducting magnets

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10.1109/TASC.2025.3619907

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title = "Magnetic Field Analysis and Shielding of Components for the Material Plasma Exposure Experiment",

abstract = "The magnet system for the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) provides the necessary field profile to enable radio-frequency (rf) source and heating along the length in order to meet the desired key performance parameters (KPPs) at the target area. In addition to the magnet system, MPEX has other systems (vacuum, diagnostics, rf source and heating) that operate in close proximity and require shielding solutions that have to be optimized with respect to location and their potential impact on magnet operation. Six magnetic or magnetically sensitive components near the magnets have been analyzed including structural steel beams used to support the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter system, motors located on the helicon and ion-cyclotron heating (ICH) plasma heating boxes, the Target Exchange Cart (TEC), the electron-cyclotron heating (ECH) gyrotron, the Surface Analysis Station (SAS) which includes a field-sensitive mass spectrometer, and infra-red and visible cameras for diagnostics. Using finite element modeling, the impact on each component is assessed and shielding solutions presented for each component. Verification of performance in a local magnet test stand was carried out to validate modeling and confirm the ability of the component to operate in a limited number of cases.",

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AU - Deibele, Craig

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N2 - The magnet system for the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) provides the necessary field profile to enable radio-frequency (rf) source and heating along the length in order to meet the desired key performance parameters (KPPs) at the target area. In addition to the magnet system, MPEX has other systems (vacuum, diagnostics, rf source and heating) that operate in close proximity and require shielding solutions that have to be optimized with respect to location and their potential impact on magnet operation. Six magnetic or magnetically sensitive components near the magnets have been analyzed including structural steel beams used to support the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter system, motors located on the helicon and ion-cyclotron heating (ICH) plasma heating boxes, the Target Exchange Cart (TEC), the electron-cyclotron heating (ECH) gyrotron, the Surface Analysis Station (SAS) which includes a field-sensitive mass spectrometer, and infra-red and visible cameras for diagnostics. Using finite element modeling, the impact on each component is assessed and shielding solutions presented for each component. Verification of performance in a local magnet test stand was carried out to validate modeling and confirm the ability of the component to operate in a limited number of cases.

AB - The magnet system for the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) provides the necessary field profile to enable radio-frequency (rf) source and heating along the length in order to meet the desired key performance parameters (KPPs) at the target area. In addition to the magnet system, MPEX has other systems (vacuum, diagnostics, rf source and heating) that operate in close proximity and require shielding solutions that have to be optimized with respect to location and their potential impact on magnet operation. Six magnetic or magnetically sensitive components near the magnets have been analyzed including structural steel beams used to support the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter system, motors located on the helicon and ion-cyclotron heating (ICH) plasma heating boxes, the Target Exchange Cart (TEC), the electron-cyclotron heating (ECH) gyrotron, the Surface Analysis Station (SAS) which includes a field-sensitive mass spectrometer, and infra-red and visible cameras for diagnostics. Using finite element modeling, the impact on each component is assessed and shielding solutions presented for each component. Verification of performance in a local magnet test stand was carried out to validate modeling and confirm the ability of the component to operate in a limited number of cases.

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KW - plasma applications

KW - superconducting magnets

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Magnetic Field Analysis and Shielding of Components for the Material Plasma Exposure Experiment

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