The solution of a transition problem in a superconducting strip

Abstract

The isothermal transition of a strip of superconducting material from the superconducting state to the normal state, under the influence of a supercritical external magnetic field, is studied on the basis of the London theory of superconductivity. The problem can be formulated as a free boundary problem with parabolic differential equations which is solved mainly by numerical methods; an analytical solution in the form of series expansions is given for the early part of the transition. It is found that, in the beginning, the transition in the strip behaves almost like the transition in a half-space. However, the two differ quite drastically as the transition nears completion. It is pointed out that to predict the total transition time for the strip by extrapolating from the analytical solution for the half-space is incorrect. The results show that such an estimate for the transition time would be much too small.