Variational principle for critical heat of quench in partially stabilized superconducting magnets

Abstract

Theory based on the minimum propagating zone (MPZ) criterion overestimates the critical heat of quench in partially stabilized superconducting magnets. The discrepancy is especially important for high values of the Stekly parameter. In this paper the variational principle for the calculation of critical heat of quench is discussed and the results obtained using this principle are compared with those based on the MPZ theory and obtained by direct dynamic numerical simulations. It is shown that the variational calculations can effectively be used for determination of critical heat.