The origination of the normal zone in a superconducting cable with partial cryostatic stabilization

This paper deals with the origination and variation in length of the normal zone in a superconducting cable. A convenient approximate formula for the propagation velocity of a semi-infinite zone was obtained assuming a linear decrease of critical current with increasing temperature; the peculiarities of the normal zone´s growth were studied in a cable with an initial gradient of gas temperature; the process of expansion and contraction of a normal zone of finite length is described. Data are given on the experimental study of the movement of a normal zone in the three-phase superconducting cable model.