Modeling experimental magnetization cycles of thin superconducting strips by finite-element simulations

To broaden the use of an adaptive resistive algorithm (ARA), we present a 3-D model able to reproduce the experimental magnetic moment loop for a finite-size superconducting strip in a perpendicular field. We also develop the same model by using H-formulation, to strengthen the ARA results. We find that 2-D models computed with the two different approaches, i.e., ARA and H-formulation, provide similar results, and both well compare to approximate analytical solutions. Then, we verify that the computed magnetic moment loop by using either 3-D numerical approaches reproduces the experimental curve, i.e., the magnetic loops of a commercial YBCO-coated conductor sample measured at 5 K. Instead, the 2-D numerical data need a scaling factor to match the experimental ones. The 3-D computations provide support to the hypotheses on the current surface profile that has been used to find the scaling factor. © 2014 IEEE.