Applicability of the Adaptive Resistivity Method to Describe the Critical State of Complex Superconducting Systems

The adaptive resistivity method is a special algorithm that allows approaching the Bean critical state by an iterative adjustment of the material’s resistivity and can be quite easily implemented in commercially available finite-element codes. Its main advantage is that the critical-state model does not depend on time (or frequency of the applied loads) so that the critical-state description is uniquely determined by the field profiles at the peak value of the applied loads. We proved its validity in the simulation of complex superconducting systems comparing its results either with analytical descriptions, where they exist, or the well-known edge-element model based on direct magnetic field formulation.