Development of a Cryogen Free 1.5 T YBCO HTS Magnet for MRI

A 1.5 T magnet suitable for magnetic resonance imaging has been designed and constructed. The magnet uses 4.8 km of Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) high temperature superconductor conductor sourced from AMSC. The conductor was wound into 16 double pancake coils distributed to achieve a magnetic field, which may be passive shimmed to +/- 20 ppm over a 120-mm-diameter spherical volume. The magnet has successfully been operated at 20 K and 130 A, achieving the desired 1.5 T field. Initial assessments indicate the realized magnetic field homogeneity is within the limits of the chosen passive shimming method.