Local Current Transport and Current Sharing Between Filaments in Striated Coated Conductors With Artificial Defects

Multifilamentary YBCO coated conductor with fishnet striation pattern is investigated by transport measurements and scanning laser microscopy (SLM). Each filament is clearly visible in SLM images, and higher current flows along the edges of filaments. After initial measurements, an incision is made to disable two filaments and to investigate the changes in the current transport, the current sharing, and the dissipation patterns. Current sharing and redistribution are clearly observed among the filaments and at the weak links. We find that the dissipation is mainly caused by local current crowding. Since the current is to be shared among intact filaments, the most impacted area is the filaments closer to the disabled ones which have to carry higher current. The other susceptible area is the weak links where the current redistributes and the increased current density is expected.