This paper describes a prototype flux pump recently operated at the MIT Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory. The results of the prototype flux pump will be used in the development of a full-scale flux pump that will be coupled to a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) insert coil of a high-field NMR magnet. Such an HTS insert is unlikely to operate in persistent mode because of the conductor's low index (n). The flux pump can compensate for field decay in the HTS insert coil and make the insert operate effectively in persistent mode. The flux pump, comprised essentially of a transformer and two switches, all made of superconductor, transfers into the insert coil a fraction of a magnetic energy that is first introduced in the secondary circuit of the transformer by a current supplied to the primary circuit. A prototype flux pump has been designed, fabricated, and operated to demonstrate that a flux pump can indeed supply a small metered current into a load superconducting magnet. A current increment in the range of microamperes has been measured in the magnet after each pumping action. The superconducting prototype flux pump is made of Nb_3Sn tape. The pump is placed in a gaseous environment above the liquid helium level to keep its heat dissipation from directly discharged in the liquid; the effluent helium vapor maintains the thermal stability of the flux pump.
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