• F.F. Bertinelli, N. Catalan-Lasheras, P. Fessia, C. Garion, S.J. Mathot, A. Perin, C.E. Scheuerlein, S. Sgobba, H.H.J. Ten Kate, J.Ph. G. L. Tock, A.P. Verweij, G.P. Willering
  CERN, Geneva

Following the analysis of the September 2008 LHC incident, the assembly process and the quality assurance of the main 13 kA interconnection splices were improved, with new measurement and diagnostics methods introduced. During the 2008-2009 shutdown ~5% of these 10 000 splices were newly assembled with these improvements implemented, but essentially maintaining the original design. It is known today that a limiting factor towards 7 TeV operation is the normal conducting resistance of ~15% of the original main 13 kA interconnection splices, associated to the electrical continuity of the copper stabiliser. A "Splices Task Force" has been set up at CERN to evaluate the need for, develop and test design improvements and prepare the implementation of a consolidation campaign. Important issues of splice design, process choice, resources and time requirements are considered.

• A. Perin, S.D. Claudet, R. van Weelderen
  CERN, Geneva

In the LHC, a large number of superconducting magnets are powered remotely by 5 superconducting links at distances of 70 up to 540 m. This innovation allowed to choose more convenient locations for installing the electrical feedboxes and their related equipment. The consolidations performed after the first commissioning campaign and the operational experience with the superconducting links over a period of several months are presented. Based on the successful application of superconducting links in the LHC, such devices can be envisaged for powering future accelerator magnets. Several possible cryogenic configurations for future superconducting links are presented with their respective figures of merit from the cryogenic and practical implementation point of view.