Electro-Thermal Response of 2G HTS Coated Conductors Subjected to Current Pulses

Triangular-shaped current pulses were used to obtain the electrical characteristics (
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I
curves) of second-generation high-temperature superconductor coated conductors above their critical current. The dependence of these
E
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I
curves on magnetic field was also characterized (up to 150 mT). Current pulses with rising rates of hundreds of amperes per millisecond were used to minimize the heat generated in the samples. When a transverse magnetic field is applied before the current pulse, an inductive voltage is measured during the rise of the current, whose origin is explained by the presence of an asymmetric flux profile in the high-temperature superconductor layer. Results from finite-elements calculations based on a force-displacement model of the flux lines reproduced this inductive voltage, as well as the rise in samples temperature.