Superconducting magnet operating in occasional idling mode
View Patent ↗Methods and systems are disclosed for saving energy while a superconducting magnet system is not being used and for reducing the time required for the re-establishment of the operating conditions of the system. Traditionally, during an inactive time interval, the temperature of the magnet coils is not allowed to rise, and the system is kept ON, in operating conditions. This results in wasting a large amount of energy for keeping the magnet coils at cryogenic temperatures. Turning the system OFF has never been an option since re-establishment of the operating conditions is very time consuming and costly. The present disclosure offers methods and systems that allow idling of a system in temperatures higher than the magnet coils' intended operating temperature, which results in noticeable savings.
1. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system configured to occasionally stay in idling mode, the system comprising:
a magnet coil configured to operate as a superconducting magnet in a desired cryogenic temperature;
a cooler configured to cool the magnet coil to the desired cryogenic temperature;
discharging, controllably, the magnet coil at least partially; and
a control component to controllably discharge the magnet coil and to control idling mode temperatures of the cold-mass during the idling mode and controllably maintain cold-mass temperatures between the cryogenic temperature and ambient temperatures of the system.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control component is manual, software-programmed, hardwired, or programmable.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the superconducting magnet operates in persistent mode.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the superconducting magnet operates in driven mode.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cooler is a cryocooler.
6. A method of idling a superconducting magnet system, the method comprising:
discharging, optionally, magnet coils, at least partially;
increasing first stage temperature of a cryostat of the system by a first desired amount; and
increasing second stage temperature of the cold-mass of the system by a second desired amount, wherein the second stage final temperature of the cold-mass is more than an intended temperature for operating the superconducting magnet system and less than ambient temperature of the superconducting magnet system.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first stage and the second stage increasing of temperatures are combined into a single stage.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the magnet coils are either not discharged or partially discharged and the charge level is maintained.
9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the cold-mass includes magnet coils, structure, and connections that keep the magnet coils together.
10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the superconducting magnet system is cryogen-free and conduction-cooled.
11. A superconducting magnet configured to occasionally stay in idling mode, the superconducting magnet comprising:
a magnet coil configured to operate as a superconducting magnet in a desired cryogenic temperature;
a discharging system configured to at least partially discharge the magnet coil;
a cooling system configured to cool the magnet coil to the desired cryogenic temperature; and
a control mechanism to control discharging and to control idling mode temperatures of the magnet coil during the idling mode and controllably maintain magnet coil temperatures between the cryogenic temperature and ambient temperatures of the superconducting magnet.
12. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the cooler is a cryogen-free cooler.
13. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the superconducting magnet is conduction-cooled.
14. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the superconducting magnet includes added thermal heat capacity other than liquid helium.
15. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the superconducting magnet operates in persistent mode.
16. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the superconducting magnet operates in driven mode.
17. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the superconducting magnet is used in an MRI scanner.
18. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the superconducting magnet is used in an NMR spectrometer.
19. The superconducting magnet of claim 11 , wherein the cooling system may include single-stage coolers or multiple coolers.