Internship: CERN

Sina Atalay,

During my 14-month technical studentship at CERN, I worked with the STEAM Team on the development of FiQuS, a finite-element1 simulation tool for superconducting2 magnets, written in Python and C++.

I was one of the main developers of FiQuS/Pancake3D: a specialized module for quench3 simulations of high-temperature superconducting4 pancake coils5.

This research led to three peer-reviewed, open-access publications:

  1. Magneto-Thermal Thin Shell Approximation for 3D Finite Element Analysis of No-Insulation Coils (December 2023)

    E. Schnaubelt, S. Atalay, M. Wozniak, J. Dular, C. Geuzaine, B. Vanderheyden, N. Marsic, A. Verweij, S. Schöps

    DOI: 10.1109/TASC.2023.3340648

  2. An Open-Source 3D FE Quench Simulation Tool for No-Insulation HTS Pancake Coils (May 2024)

    S. Atalay, E. Schnaubelt, M. Wozniak, J. Dular, G. Zachou, S. Schöps, A. Verweij

    DOI: 10.1088/1361-6668/ad3f83

  3. Influence of Critical Current Defect on Operation, Quench Detection and Protection of a Conduction-Cooled Pancake REBCO Coil (January 2025)

    M. Wozniak, E. Schnaubelt, S. Atalay, B. Bordini, J. Dular, T. Mulder, E. Ravaioli, A. Verweij

    DOI: 10.1109/TASC.2025.3532246

This experience significantly shaped my interest in software engineering and directly influenced the development of RenderCV.

Notes

  1. Simulations involve solving physical equations numerically; the finite-element method (FEM) is one technique to do that. ↩

  2. Superconductors are materials that exhibit zero electrical resistance below a critical temperature. ↩

  3. In superconducting magnets, a quench refers to the sudden loss of superconductivity at a point in the coil, causing extreme local temperature rise and potential damage. ↩

  4. High-temperature superconductors (HTS) are materials that exhibit superconductivity at temperatures significantly above those of conventional superconductors, often above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K). ↩

  5. Pancake coils are a type of coil design where the conductor is wound in a flat spiral. ↩