Current distribution monitoring enables quench and damage detection in superconducting fusion magnets.

Fusion magnets made from high temperature superconducting ReBCO CORC cables are typically protected with quench detection systems that use voltage or temperature measurements to trigger current extraction processes. Although small coils with low inductances have been demonstrated, magnet protection remains a challenge and magnets are typically operated with little knowledge of the intrinsic performance parameters. We propose a protection framework based on current distribution monitoring in fusion cables with limited inter-cable current sharing.