On the distribution of a transport current inside a multifilamentary superconducting wire in a rapidly changing transverse magnetic field

Abstract

For the current distribution inside a multifilamentary superconducting wire carring a dc transport current in a rapidly changing transverse magnetic field, inconsistencies with the existing models are shown by the following experimental evidence: when a transverse magnetic field is applied, the distribution of transport current is not unaltered but is forced to concentrate into the inner circular cross section region during a characteristic time constant τ c, called the coupling time constant. Secondly, the characteristic time constant for the transport current distribution inside the inner region to approach a uniform distribution is not τ c but a new time constant τ 1 called the ‘uniforming time constant’, though the variation in the distribution does not occur unless the external magnetic field changes with time. It is shown that the model of the current distribution based on the above experimental evidence exhibits a remarkable difference from the existing models, especially for the wires containing very fine superconducting filaments.