AbstractIn the paper the difference between a 1D and a 3D heat conduction model is investigated during quench of a single pancake. It was found that heat conduction between adjacent turns stabilizes the reversed flow at the cable inlet. Then the 3D model is used to investigate quench in a four pancake stack of the Toroidal Field Model Coil (TFMC). The analysis covers also the Helium piping outside the coil. It is found that inter pancake heat conduction can be neglected for transients lasting only 10–20 s. Pancake to pancake quench propagation can take place in this time span via the inter pancake joints and the inlet manifold.