An experimental study of heating due to the AC loss in a BSCCO cylinder

Due to the very low thermal conductivity of high temperature superconductor s (HTSC), AC losses can result in a non-uniform temperature distribution in side a sample. We report the results of an experimental investigation of th e temperature distribution in the wall of the BSCCO hollow cylinder in AC m agnetic field. The BSCCO cylinder has a relatively low critical current den sity of 550 A/cm(2) (at 77 K) measured under DC conditions at 1 mu V/cm cri terion. The temperature of the interior of the cylinder relative to the out side coolant raised 2.5 K at low external magnetic field (similar to 0.04 T ). The change in temperature is increased linearly with frequency and as th e third power of the applied magnetic field. The experimental results are c ompared with the theoretical predictions obtained in the framework of the c ritical state model complemented by the heat equation. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.