Effect of combining a DC bias current with an AC transport current on AC losses in a High Temperature Superconductor

TL;DR

This study experimentally investigates how combining a DC bias current with an AC transport current affects AC losses in a high-temperature superconductor, revealing the first validation of the Clem valley phenomenon in such materials.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental validation of the Clem valley in high-temperature superconductors by applying combined DC and AC currents and measuring the resulting AC losses.

Findings

Observation of the Clem valley in high-temperature superconductor AC losses

Different behaviors depending on the AC current amplitude

Potential method for reducing AC losses in industrial applications

Abstract

Creating complex flux configurations by superposing a dc current or magnetic field onto the ac current in a type II superconducting tape should lead to a variety of peculiar behaviors. An example is the appearance of the Clem valley, a minimum in the ac losses as a function of the dc bias amplitude, which has been theoretically studied by LeBlanc et al., in the continuation of Clem's calculations. These situations have been investigated by applying a dc current to a silver-gold sheathed Bi-2223 tape at 77 K (critical current 29 A), in addition to the usual ac transport current. The ac losses were measured by the null calorimetric method to ensure that the total losses were being accounted for. These were recorded for different values of the ac and dc currents, leading to the observation of two different behaviors depending on the ac current. Our revelation of the Clem valley is, to our knowledge, the first experimental validation of this phenomenon in high temperature superconductors, and may provide a simple way of reducing the ac loss in industrial applications of these materials.