Quench Development in Coated Conductors

We measured and analyzed the quench development in coated conductor(CC) tapes. The CC was grown on hastelloy substrates and has an Ag protection layer. The tapes were subjected to simulated AC fault currents for quench development measurement. They were immersed in liquid nitrogen during the experiment. The quench resistance increased rapidly first, and the increase slowed down afterwards. It increased linearly with applied voltage at lower voltages, and depended less strongly on applied voltage at higher voltages. The resistance was compared with that of Au/YBCO films grown on sapphire substrates, and found to increase more monotonously than the latter. Data were analyzed quantitatively with the concept of heat transfer within the tape and the surrounding liquid nitrogen. A heat balance equation was derived and solved, taking into consideration temperature dependence of thermal parameters of the tapes. Solutions, together with values of thermal parameters taken from the literature, explained the data well. Cooling by liquid nitrogen affected the quench development considerably at lower applied voltages. Dependence on applied voltages could be also understood quantitatively.