Simple and Fast Method for Computing Induced Currents in Superconductors Using Freely Available Solvers for Ordinary Differential Equations

The current distribution in a superconductor is commonly calculated by solving the Maxwell's equations in differential form. An alternative method based on an integral form of Maxwell's equations was proposed by E. H. Brandt. Since the integral formulation needs to be solved in the conductor volume only, this method can be easily implemented in a programming language such as MATLAB. Brandt's approach has been used by several authors over the years, but no ready-to-use implementations are available. In this article, we present a step-by-step derivation of the method for a thin strip, a rectangular bar, and a cylindrical bulk. The results are validated using a comparison with exact solutions of the critical state model and a finite element solution of the H-formulation.