Voltage-current characteristics and current instability conditions of a high-temperature superconductor in non-uniform temperature distribution

The influence of non-uniform temperature distribution in the cross section of a high-temperature superconductor (thermal size effect) on its voltage-current characteristic and the instability conditions of charged current is investigated. The boundary values of the electric field and the current above which the charged current is unstable are defined taking into account the size effect. It is shown that the calculated current of the instability determining the maximum allowable value of the charged current is reduced, if the thermal heterogeneity of the electrodynamics states is taken into consideration in the theoretical analysis of the stability conditions. As a result, the limiting stable values of the electric field and current depend nonlinearly on the thickness of the superconductor, its critical properties as well as on the external cooling conditions. Therefore, the current of instability will not increase proportionally to the increase in the thickness of superconductor or its critical current density at the intensive cooling conditions. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.