Inductive Behavior of Superconducting Magnets

Abstract

The inductive behavior of a closed system of superconductors is investigated with the purpose of attaining high magnetic fields. High-field superconductors do not exhibit the Meissner effect, and the inductive behavior of a system formed of these materials can be predicted fairly accurately from the conservation law of flux linkage which follows from the zero resistivity. Simple flux shielding or trapping is quantitatively analyzed for a tubular geometry. The flux concentration scheme is discussed for several practical configurations. In this scheme, a low field over a large volume (externally applied field) is compressed into a smaller volume to achieve the desired intensification in field strength. The energy of the external magnetic field can be utilized more effectively by flux pumping, but this requires intricate switching sequences.