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Abstract #3945

A Temperature Distribution Model for Gradient Coils

Peter T. While1, Larry K. Forbes1, Stuart Crozier2

1School of Maths and Physics, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia; 2School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia


Excessive heating of gradient coils is a considerable concern. An analytic model is presented for calculating theoretically the spatial temperature distribution for cylindrical gradient coils. The model includes Ohmic heating due to current density in resistive material, thermal conduction through a copper layer and an epoxy former, and radial heat loss to the environment. A great number of coil parameters can be varied, including geometry, electrical and thermal properties, and results are shown for a standard x-gradient coil under three different types of cooling. In addition, temperature rise-times are predicted using a time-dependent solution for hot spot temperature.

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