Three dimensional stability analysis of high-temperature superconductors using the finite element method

As the properties of high-temperature superconducting tapes improve, practical design considerations require more detailed analysis to prevent quenching. An important issue for high-temperature superconductors is stability; i.e. the ability to maintain or recover superconductivity in the event of a thermal disturbance or flux jump. As a result of the broad range of temperature during a transition and the strong temperature dependence and anisotropy of the material properties, the finite element method (FEM) is used to solve the three-dimensional heat conduction equation. The minimum quench energy for several sources is determined. The different cases considered include: convective boundary condition, source in BSCCO or Ag, increased anisotropy of thermal conductivity of BSCCO, increased critical current density and a constant source in Ag Bi/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/Ca/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O-Ag.