Critical Currents In Superconductors For Practical Applications Proceedings Of The International Workshop

This proceedings volume reviews the recent developments of superconducting materials for practical applications and critical current characteristics. It contains 18 invited papers and 72 contributed papers. The scope of these papers includes: (1) synthesis and processing of practical materials, (2) properties of high-T(c) tapes, cables, coils and bulk materials, (3) critical currents and microstructures (including artificially introduced defects), (4) flux dynamics and pinning mechanisms, (5) applications of high-T(c) materials, (6) applications of low-T(c) superconductors, (7) processing, physical properties and applications of high-T(c) thin film.

This proceedings volume reviews the recent developments of superconducting materials for practical applications and critical current characteristics. It contains 18 invited papers and 72 contributed papers. The scope of these papers includes: (1) synthesis and processing of practical materials, (2) properties of high-Tc tapes, coils and bulk materials, (3) critical currents and microstructure, (4) flux dynamics and pinning mechanisms, (5) applications of high-Tc materials, (6) applications of low-Tc superconductors, (7) processing, physical properties and applications of high-Tc thin films.

This workshop includes about 110 papers describing the flux pinning and related electromagnetic phenomena in superconductors. Various problems are argued on exotic properties of flux lines, flux dynamics, flux pinning mechanisms, critical current density and critical state phenomena in both high- and low-temperature superconductors. Contents:OverviewsFlux Lines, Phase DiagramsIrreversibility Line, Flux DynamicsFlux Spinning Properties, Artificial PinsBulk Materials, Tapes, Thin Films Readership: Researchers and postgraduates students in high Tc superconductivity, condensed matter/solid state physics, applied physics, electrical & electronic engineering and materials science.

Applications of superconductivity at the boiling temperature of liquid nitrogen continue to challenge physicists, materials scientists and engineers all over the world eight years after the discovery of high temperature superconductivity. The key to a solution of today's problems lies in the optimization of the defect structure in well-oriented oxide materials as well as in a fundamental understanding of the magnetic microstructures in the mixed state and how they are affected by the crystallographic nature ('dimensionality') of these materials. Fifteen invited overview lectures as well as approximately 150 contributed papers highlight the state of the art in this important field of superconductivity and review our current knowledge of critical currents in superconductors.

The discovery by J. G. Bednorz and K. A. Mtllier in 1986 that the superconducting state can exist in oxides at temperatures above 30 K stimulated research in the field of superconductivity and opened up a new field of research. Within a few years a large number of cuprate superconductors with transition temperatures well above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen have been found. The possibility of using liquid nitrogen as coolant re-stimulated interest in power applications of supercon ductivity. In this book an overview of the known high-Te superconductors and their physical properties is presented. Aspects related to conductor fabrication and high-current applications are emphasised. The material should be suitable for use in graduate level courses on superconductivity. Researchers in the field may profit from the large number of tables and references describing its status at the end of 1997. An introduction to high-To superconductivity must be based on the fundamental physical principles of normal-state electrical conductivity and the well-known characteristics of conventional superconductors. In Chapter 2 this background is provided. Crystal structures, anisotropic properties and general trends of the critical temperatures of the cuprate superconductors are described in Chapters 3 and 4. The processing of superconductor powders addressed in Chapter 5 affects considerably the current-carrying capacity of high-T. wires. In Chapter 6 several fabrication techniques for superconducting wires are described. In addition, the factors limiting the transport critical currents ofhigh-Te wires are discussed.