Flux pinning in high-current-density superconductors

A major application of superconducting wire materials is the generation of magnetic fields, often in large volumes, with particular strenth, homogeneity, and field gradients. To fabricate superconductors which can carry high current densities at high temperatures and fields, flux pinning, by crystal inhomogeneities, must be understood. This paper attempts to answer two questions about flux pinning. The first addresses the nature and strenght of the elementary interaction force (f) between one flux line (FL) and one obstacle; the second, the correct summation of these elementary interactions between the obstacles in a unit volume and the FL to the (total) volume pinning force F /SUB v/ = B X J /SUB c/ . The discussion is confined to NbTi and A15 superconductors such as Nb/sub 3/Sn and V/sub 3/Ga. Important pinning sites in these superconductors are dislocation walls, precipitates, small inclusions, voids, grain boundaries, and bubbles. A series of mathematical models which have been used in the past are presented and synthesized into a more sophisticated explanation of pinning.