Thermal behavior of a composite superconductor in stability margin experiments

We carried out a two-dimensional thermal analysis for the purpose of estimating the net input energy needed to cause quench in stability. The analysis model was based of a composite superconductor, with a configuration of 12.5 mm×18.0 mm Cu sheathed NbTi/Cu with Al stabilizer. The results showed that the large heat capacity and low thermal conductivity of the heaters, composed of alloys and polymers, hindered thermal diffusion from the heaters to the conductor. Considering experimental total input energy to be its stability margin may overestimate the stability of the conductor, while appropriate thermal analysis with experiments can estimate net input energy, which can be regarded as the real stability margin