97 research outputs found
Diversity of flux avalanche patterns in superconducting films
The variety of morphologies in flux patterns created by thermomagnetic
dendritic avalanches in type-II superconducting films is investigated using
numerical simulations. The avalanches are triggered by introducing a hot spot
at the edge of a strip-shaped sample, which is initially prepared in a
partially penetrated Bean critical state by slowly ramping the transversely
applied magnetic field. The simulation scheme is based on a model accounting
for the nonlinear and nonlocal electrodynamics of superconductors in the
transverse geometry. By systematically varying the parameters representing the
Joule heating, heat conduction in the film, and heat transfer to the substrate,
a wide variety of avalanche patterns is formed, and quantitative
characterization of areal extension, branch width etc. is made. The results
show that branching is suppressed by the lateral heat diffusion, while large
Joule heating gives many branches, and heat removal into the substrate limits
the areal size. The morphology shows significant dependence also on the initial
flux penetration depth.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Flux Dendrites of Opposite Polarity in Superconducting MgB rings observed with magneto-optical imaging
Magneto-optical imaging was used to observe flux dendrites with opposite
polarities simultaneously penetrate superconducting, ring-shaped MgB films.
By applying a perpendicular magnetic field, branching dendritic structures
nucleate at the outer edge and abruptly propagate deep into the rings. When
these structures reach close to the inner edge, where flux with opposite
polarity has penetrated the superconductor, they occasionally trigger anti-flux
dendrites. These anti-dendrites do not branch, but instead trace the triggering
dendrite in the backward direction. Two trigger mechanisms, a non-local
magnetic and a local thermal, are considered as possible explanations for this
unexpected behaviour. Increasing the applied field further, the rings are
perforated by dendrites which carry flux to the center hole. Repeated
perforations lead to a reversed field profile and new features of dendrite
activity when the applied field is subsequently reduced.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev.
Magnetostrictive behaviour of thin superconducting disks
Flux-pinning-induced stress and strain distributions in a thin disk
superconductor in a perpendicular magnetic field is analyzed. We calculate the
body forces, solve the magneto-elastic problem and derive formulas for all
stress and strain components, including the magnetostriction . The
flux and current density profiles in the disk are assumed to follow the Bean
model. During a cycle of the applied field the maximum tensile stress is found
to occur approximately midway between the maximum field and the remanent state.
An effective relationship between this overall maximum stress and the peak
field is found.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Supercond. Sci. Technol., Proceed.
of MEM03 in Kyot
Collapse of the critical state in superconducting niobium
Giant abrupt changes in the magnetic flux distribution in niobium foils were
studied by using magneto-optical visualization, thermal and magnetic
measurements. Uniform flux jumps and sometimes almost total catastrophic
collapse of the critical state are reported. Results are discussed in terms of
thermomagnetic instability mechanism with different development scenarios.Comment: arXiv.org produced artifacts in color images (three versions were
attempts to make better images). Download clean PDF and watch video-figures
at: "http://cmp.ameslab.gov/supermaglab/video/Nb.html
Single vortices observed as they enter NbSe
We observe single vortices as they penetrate the edge of a superconductor
using a high-sensitivity magneto-optical microscope. The vortices leap across a
gap near the edge, a distance that decreases with increasing applied field and
sample thickness. This behaviour can be explained by the combined effect of the
geometrical barrier and bulk pinning.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, M2S-Rio proceeding
Scaling and exact solutions for the flux creep problem in a slab superconductor
The flux creep problem for a superconductor slab placed in a constant or
time-dependent magnetic field is considered. Logarithmic dependence of the
activation energy on the current density is assumed, U=U0 ln(J/Jc), with a
field dependent Jc. The density B of the magnetic flux penetrating into the
superconductor, is shown to obey a scaling law, i.e., the profiles B(x) at
different times can be scaled to a function of a single variable. We found
exact solution for the scaling function in some specific cases, and an
approximate solution for a general case. The scaling also holds for a slab
carrying transport current I resulting in a power-law V(I) with exponent p~1.
When the flux fronts moving from two sides of the slab collapse at the center,
the scaling is broken and p crosses over to U0/kT.Comment: RevTex, 10 pages including 6 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
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