AC loss characteristics of YBCO coated conductors with Ag protection layer

We measured AC transport current and magnetization losses in two samples of YBCO coated conductors with thin (10 μm) and thick (50 μm) Ag protection layers to investigate the influence of the Ag layer on the AC losses. The experiments showed that the Ag layer did not significantly affect AC transport current and magnetization losses in the range of the experiment. Comparing the experimental data with theoretical analyses, it is pointed out that there are some discrepancies and that critical current distributions in the cross-sections of the conductors are a main cause of the discrepancies between the experimental data and theory.