Superconductor Stability Against Quench and Its Correlation with Current Propagation and Limiting.

This paper presents a numerical (finite element) analysis of superconductor stability and current propagation under random variations of critical superconductor parameters. Instead of using singular (homogeneous) values, random variations potentially are appropriate to take into account any conductor inhomogeneity that can be considered as an obstacle to current propagation. Traditional assumptions like homogeneous current distribution, critical temperature, critical current density and critical magnetic fields are not justified in general; a local disturbance (for example, release of mechanical stress energy), if not immediately distributed by solid conduction, would generate a transient increase of local conductor temperature. Local critical current density and magnetic field then will be reduced, and current distribution will change. Disturbances may arise also from transport currents that locally exceed the critical current of the superconductor. Disturbances of all kinds may increase the conductor temperature above its critical value. A local analysis of all superconductor states thus is mandatory to safely avoid a quench. As an extension of standard stability models, also flux flow resistive states are taken into account. We will try to find a possibly existing correlation between current propagation and superconductor stability. Fault current limiting is discussed as a special case of current propagation. The analysis is applied to a bundle of high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) filaments. As will be shown, temperature profiles in a superconductor do not allow a clear distinction between Ohmic resistive or flux flow resistive fault current limiting. Though frequently made in the literature, this separation is highly questionable, because Ohmic resistive and flux flow resistive states may locally coexist, side by side, but are not very stable in the superconductor volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]