SCALING LAW FOR QUENCH ENERGIES OF COMPOSITE SUPERCONDUCTORS

The variation of the quench energy E(c) (the minimum heat pulse energy required to destroy the superconductivity) of a composite superconduc tor with transport current is studied experimentally. The values of E( c) for different types of composite are measured in a wide range of ex ternal magnetic fields B and transport currents I under different cool ing conditions. It is shown that the values of E(c)(I, B) satisfy a ce rtain scaling law. This law allows one to put in order a large number of experimental data concerning the quench energy and to simplify the procedure of revealing the quench energy dependence on various paramet ers. A theoretical approach to interpretation of the scaling law is pr oposed. The results obtained may be of importance in the study of comp osite superconductor stability against thermal disturbances.