Analysis of mechanical behavior in inhomogeneous high-temperature superconductors under pulsed field magnetization

Abstract

Melt-textured large, single-grain REBCO (RE: rare earth element or Y) bulk superconductors have growth sector boundaries (GSBs) and growth sector regions (GSRs). The critical current density is dependent on the GSBs and the GSRs, which will influence the electromagnetic field and the temperature field distributions. REBCO bulk superconductors are brittle materials and during the manufacturing process, cracks and inclusions may exist, therefore it is necessary to analyze the mechanical response during the magnetization process. In this paper, the mechanical response of an inhomogeneous cylinder superconductor under electromagnetic stress and the thermal stress during the pulsed field magnetization process is studied. By solving the coupled magnetic and heat diffusion equations in association with a modified power-law relationship, we can obtain the electromagnetic field and the temperature field distributions; then, the mechanical response of the bulk can be determined. The trend shown by our numerical simulation is consistent with the experimental results. Then we study the mechanical behavior of inhomogeneous high-temperature superconductors with and without a flux jump. The case without or with the SUS 304 ring is also analyzed.