Quench distribution in superconducting fault current limiters at various voltages

We investigated the quench distribution in resistive superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) based on YBa2Cu3O7 thin films at various source voltages. The film was grown on sapphire substrates, coated in situ with a gold layer and patterned into pairs of 1 mm wide and 26 cm long meander lines by photolithography. Fabricated limiters were tested with simulated AC fault currents. The resistivity of Au/YBa2Cu3O7 meander lines was relatively uniform in the center stripes at all voltages. This result is important because it means the dissipated power was distributed relatively evenly among most of stripes. The resistivity of the stripes near electrodes was significantly lower than that of center stripes, reflecting the cooling power of the electrode area. The difference increased with the source voltage. These results could be explained quantitatively in terms of heat transfer from limiter meander lines to surroundings. Data fit reasonably well to the solution of heat balance equation obtained with appropriate boundary conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.