Analytical method to calculate the quench energy of a superconductor carrying a transport current

✍ Scribed by N.A. Buznikov; A.A. Pukhov

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 851 KB
• Volume: 36
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0011-2275
• DOI: 10.1016/0011-2275(96)00025-2

✦ Synopsis

The dynamics of the normal zone initiated by a local heat pulse in a superconductor carrying a transport current is studied theoretically. An approximate method is considered, from which analytical formulae are obtained for the minimum heat pulse energy EC required to destroy the superconductivity. The method described allows analytical results for EC available up to now to be generalized and also new ones to be obtained. Different models of Joule self-heating in a superconductor are considered. Analytical formulae for the dependencies of the quench energy EC on the current density j are obtained for one-, two-and three-dimensional heat propagation under adiabatic conditions. The influence of heat transfer to the coolant on the quench energy EC is discussed. The analytical results are confirmed by a direct numerical simulation of the normal zone dynamics. The results obtained may be of importance for studying the cryostability of both conventional and high-temperature superconductors.