Measurements of traveling transition zone along a superconductor

The spatial variation of the temperature in a traveling superconducting-normal transition zone can provide valuable information on transient heat transfer in realistic coil conditions. In this paper, temperature wave curves are presented for several transport currents corresponding to propagation and recovery in a high magnetic field. The temperature profiles have been constructed in the form T = T (x + vt) by measuring the wave velocity and the temperature at one point as a function of time. The temperature is measured directly with differential thermocouples; simultaneous voltage measurements provide a continuous temperature reference in the current sharing region. Information is given about thermocouple calibration in the high magnetic field and about the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the thermal conductivity of the sample.