Bulk high-temperature superconducting hollow cylinders used for magnetic shielding: effect of an initial trapped field on the shielding performances.

Bulk High-Temperature Superconductors (HTS) can be used as efficient passive magnetic shields with performances exceeding those of conventional ferromagnetic materials. The most common geometry for a superconducting shield is a bulk hollow cylinder. In this work, we investigate the magnetic shielding properties when the tube is not in the virgin state. Such a situation happens in practice when the tube has been initially subjected to a first magnetic field. The induced superconducting currents that are flowing in the tube generate a trapped magnetic moment which may deteriorate the shielding of a second field. Here we study experimentally how an initial trapped moment affects the shielding of a magnetic field, when they are both perpendicular to each other. In particular, we focus on the effect of an axial trapped moment on the transverse shielding performances and on the effect of a transverse trapped field on the axial or the transverse shielding performances. Finally, we show how the pristine state of the tube can be restored when applying an external field of adequate amplitude. The consequence for practical applications is that it is possible to recover shielding properties similar to those obtained in the virgin state without heating up the shield above its critical temperature TC.