AC Magnetic Measurements on Superconductors: Design of a Device for Magneto-Thermal Measurements

This work describes the design and realisation of an apparatus to measure simultaneously the AC magnetic properties and the temperature distribution on the top surface of bulk superconducting samples (up to 32 mm in diameter) in cryogenic conditions (temperature range 78-120 K). First we describe the experimental set-up used for simultaneous thermal and magnetic characterization of the sample. Next we describe the practical considerations required for generating the large AC magnetic fields, possibly in the presence of DC fields. In the third section we present a custom-made high speed data acquisition system for replacing the laboratory devices (DC voltmeter and AC lock-in amplifiers) when both temperature and magnetic data need to be recorded at high a sampling rate. The performances and limitations of the system are discussed.Peer reviewe

Development of a microcontroller-based phase resolved partial discharge measurement system with application to the monitoring of flash sintering discharge patterns

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Numerical simulation of the magnetization of high-temperature superconductors: 3D finite element method using a single time-step iteration

We make progress towards a 3D finite-element model for the magnetization of a high temperature superconductor (HTS): We suggest a method that takes into account demagnetisation effects and flux creep, while it neglects the effects associated with currents that are not perpendicular to the local magnetic induction. We consider samples that are subjected to a uniform magnetic field varying linearly with time. Their magnetization is calculated by means of a weak formulation in the magnetostatic approximation of the Maxwell equations (A-phi formulation). An implicit method is used for the temporal resolution (Backward Euler scheme) and is solved in the open source solver GetDP. Picard iterations are used to deal with the power law conductivity of HTS. The finite element formulation is validated for an HTS tube with large pinning strength through the comparison with results obtained with other well-established methods. We show that carrying the calculations with a single time-step (as opposed to many small time-steps) produce results with excellent accuracy in a drastically reduced simulation time. The numerical method is extended to the study of the trapped magnetization of cylinders that are drilled with different arrays of columnar holes arranged parallel to the cylinder axis

Magnetic shielding properties of high-temperature superconducting tubes subjected to axial fields

We have experimentally studied the magnetic shielding properties of a cylindrical shell of BiPbSrCaCuO subjected to low frequency AC axial magnetic fields. The magnetic response has been investigated as a function of the dimensions of the tube, the magnitude of the applied field and the frequency. These results are explained quantitatively by employing the method of Brandt (1998 Phys. Rev. B 58 6506) with a Jc(B) law appropriate for a polycrystalline material. Specifically, we observe that the applied field can sweep into the central region either through the thickness of the shield or through the opening ends, the latter mechanism being suppressed for long tubes. For the first time, we systematically detail the spatial variation of the shielding factor (the ratio of the applied field over the internal magnetic field) along the axis of a high-temperature superconducting tube. The shielding factor is shown to be constant in a region around the centre of the tube, and to decrease as an exponential in the vicinity of the ends. This spatial dependence comes from the competition between two mechanisms of field penetration. The frequency dependence of the shielding factor is also discussed and shown to follow a power law arising from the finite creep exponent n.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figure

A SC/battery Hybrid Energy Storage System in the Microgrid

The major challenges in power systems are driven by the energy shortage and environmental concerns, namely facilitating the penetration of renewable energy and improving the efficiency of the renewable powers. Due to the variable nature of renewables, the generated power profile may not be able to match the load requirement. Accordingly, much attention has been focused on the development of energy storage technologies to guarantee renewable power penetrations. Recently, advances in the supercapacitor (SC) have made the SC and battery hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) technically attractive. Compared with other energy storage technologies the principal advantages of SC are: the high power density, high cycling life, and high peak current handling capacities. However, SC is also deficient in low energy density. The battery is characterised by large energy density but low in power capacity. In the microgrid systems, high-frequency power fluctuations will cause a significant degree of battery power cycling. This, in turn, has been shown to lead to a significant reduction in battery service life. Therefore, the concept of the SC and battery hybrid scheme is proposed. A case study of the HESS based on a microgrid is introduced in this paper. A simplified microgrid system is established to test the performance of the proposed design

Study of Conduction Mechanisms in Antistatic Felts at the Mesoscopic Scale

peer reviewedThis work is part of a project that deals with the optimization of the quantity and the nature of conductive fibers in antistatic felts used for filtering and sieving powders. Our research concerns the electrical properties at the mesoscopic scale. It aims at determining the conduction mechanisms and the distribution of the electric potential at the scale of the distance between the conductive fibers. In this paper, current-voltage (I-V) measurement results are presented and discussed. X-ray microtomography is used to obtain the geometry of the conductive fibers inside the felts before and after these I-V tests. The studied textile material is based on polyester fibers and stainless steel conductive fibers.Nouvelle conception de filtres textiles antistatique

Magnetic and transport properties of HoMnO3 monocrystals

peer reviewedThis paper presents results from measurements of the magnetization, specific heat and dielectric constant, and their temperature and magnetic field dependence, for HoMnO3 single crystals. The results are discussed in the framework of existing data on magnetic symmetries and the interactions between the Mn-spins, the rare earth moments, and the lattice. From the resulting data, the magnetic phase diagram of HoMnO3 was built

Magnetotransport properties of a single grain boundary in a bulk La-Ca-Mn-O material

peer reviewedBesides the "intrinsic" colossal magnetoresistance effect observed in single crystals, the polycrystalline manganate compounds also exhibit an "extrinsic" magnetoresistance related to the presence of grain boundaries. We report electrical transport and magnetic measurements carried out on a bigrain sample extracted from a floating zone method-grown rod of calcium doped lanthanum manganate. Electrical resistance was measured both within a grain and across the grain boundary, between 20 and 300 K and from 0 to 8 T. Magnetoresistance values up to 99% are reached within the grain. The temperature dependence of the resistance across the grain boundary displays a "foot-like" feature towards the bottom of the transition. Low field and high field magnetoresistance effects are examined. We compare our results for a "bulk" grain boundary to those obtained by other authors for bicrystal thin films and bulk polycrystalline materials. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics

Silver paint as a soldering agent for DyBaCuO single-domain welding

peer reviewedSilver paint has been tested as a soldering agent for DyBaCuO 4 single-domain welding. Junctions have been manufactured on Dy-Ba-Cu-O single domains cut either along planes parallel to the c-axis IT or along the ab-planes. Microstructural and superconducting characterizations of the samples have been performed. For both types of junctions, the microstructure in the joined area is very clean: no secondary phase or Ag particle segregation has been observed. Electrical and magnetic measurements for all configurations of interest are reported (rho(T) curves, and Hall probe mapping). The narrow resistive superconducting transition reported for all configurations shows that the artificial junction does not affect significantly the measured superconducting properties of the material

Cu doping as a tool for understanding CMR

Doping at the Mn-site in CMR manganate-based perovskites has been shown to affect strongly the physical properties of those compounds. We study here the effect of copper substitution in the low doping range on the electrical transport properties of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3. It turns out that the transition temperature decrease observed in doped samples can be drastically reduced by addition of silicon dioxide SiO2. It is shown that copper is trapped in a secondary phase composed of La,Ca,Si,Cu and O. The resultant Mn-site vacancies appear to be less detrimental to the electronic conduction than the likely antiferromagnetic clusters induced by the copper ions in the Mn-O network