Behavior of bulk high-temperature superconductors of finite thickness subjected to crossed magnetic fields: Experiment and model

Crossed-magnetic-field effects on bulk high-temperature superconductors have been studied both experimentally and numerically. The sample geometry investigated involves finite-size effects along both (crossed-)magnetic-field directions. The experiments were carried out on bulk melt-processed Y-Ba-Cu-O single domains that had been premagnetized with the applied field parallel to their shortest direction (i.e., the c axis) and then subjected to several cycles of the application of a transverse magnetic field parallel to the sample ab plane. The magnetic properties were measured using orthogonal pickup coils, a Hall probe placed against the sample surface, and magneto-optical imaging. We show that all principal features of the experimental data can be reproduced qualitatively using a two-dimensional finite-element numerical model based on an E-J power law and in which the current density flows perpendicularly to the plane within which the two components of magnetic field are varied. The results of this study suggest that the suppression of the magnetic moment under the action of a transverse field can be predicted successfully by ignoring the existence of flux-free configurations or flux-cutting effects. These investigations show that the observed decay in magnetization results from the intricate modification of current distribution within the sample cross section. The current amplitude is altered significantly only if a field-dependent critical current density Jc(B) is assumed. Our model is shown to be quite appropriate to describe the cross-flow effects in bulk superconductors. It is also shown that this model does not predict any saturation of the magnetic induction, even after a large number (~ 100) of transverse field cycles. These features are shown to be consistent with the experimental data. (C) The American Physical Society.