Browsing by Subject "Current density"
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Item Enhanced Flux-Pinning Properties in Superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-? Thin Films with Nanoengineering Methods(2013-05-01) Tsai, Chen-FongSince the discovery of the high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-? (YBCO), with transition temperature (Tc = 77 K), above liquid nitrogen point in 1987 many research projects have been dedicated to enhancing the high field performance of this material for practical applications. The 2nd generation YBCO-based coated conductors are believed to be the most promising approach for commercial applications including power transmission, motors, generators, and high field magnets. With the advances of nanotechnologies, different nanoengineering methods have been demonstrated to enhance the performance of YBCO thin films, include doping with 0-dimensional (0-D) self-assembled nanoparticles, 1-dimensional (1-D) nanorods, and 2-dimensional (2-D) nanolayers. Furthermore, dopants with ferromagnetic properties are also reported to provide enhanced pinning effects by Lorentz force, especially under high-applied magnetic fields. The principle of these methods is to generate high-density defects at the heterogeneous interfaces as artificial pinning centers in an effort to improve the flux-pinning properties. The morphology and dimensions of the nanoinclusions play an important role in pining enhancement. Optimized pinning structures are likely to be located at energetically favorable vortex cores, which form a triangular lattice with dimensions close to the YBCO coherence length ? (?ab ~ 4 nm; ?c ~ 0.5 nm at 77 K.) However, it is challenging to achieve small dimensional nanodopants in the vapor deposited YBCO thin films. The purpose of this research is to utilize nanoengineering methods to produce optimized pinning structure in YBCO thin films. In this thesis, we systematically study the effects of different nanoinclusions on the flux-pinning properties of YBCO thin films. The 0-D ferromagnetic Fe2O3 and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles, 2-D CeO2 multilayers, and tunable vertically aligned nanocomposites (VAN) of (Fe2O3)x:(CeO2)1-x and (CoFe2O4)x:(CeO2)1-x systems are introduced into the YBCO matrix as artificial pinning centers. Results suggest that all nanoinclusions showed significant enhancement in the superconducting properties of YBCO. The ferromagnetic pinning centers dominate at high field and low temperature regimes, however, the defect pinning centers dominate at low field and high temperature regimes. The uniquely arranged VAN structure of alternating magnetic and non-magnetic nanophases, which incorporates both high defect density and tunable distribution of magnetic dopants, is believed to be an ideal solution for flux-pinning enhancement.Item Experimental investigation of the effects of electrical currents in small-scale contact regimes(2010-08) Manley, Matthew Halperin; Ravi-Chandar, K.; Satapathy, SikhandaRailguns undergo excessive wear between the projectile and the electromagnetic launcher rails due to the hypersonic relative motion and very large current density involved. The wear effects at the small-scale on the rail-armature interface are not well known but need to be examined in order to support the development of a multishot launcher. Proposed contact regimes in the surface asperity interactions include solidsolid contact, liquid-metal lubricated contact, and arcing. In the present work, a modified Mesoscale Friction Tester (MFT) equipped with a probe and substrate was used to investigate experimentally the arcing and friction conditions that the rail-armature interface would experience. Copper probes with a range of radii of curvature were electrochemically etched and polished to submicrometer roughness. The minimum electrode distances for arcing to occur was found in air at atmospheric pressure and led to a modified Paschen curve where field emission of electrons was the dominant physical mechanism as opposed to Townsend avalanche of ionized gas. Arcing erosion was studied by varying the current, number of strikes, dwell time, and nearest electrode positions horizontally and vertically. Copper-copper friction with a constant normal force resulted in reduced wear when applying a constant current between the electrodes.