Comparison of Levitation Properties between Bulk High-Temperature Superconductor Blocks and High-Temperature Superconductor Tape Stacks Prepared from Commercial Coated Conductors.

Bulk high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) such as BaCuO (BCO, = Y, Gd) are commonly used in rotationally symmetric superconducting magnetic bearings. However, such bulks have several disadvantages such as brittleness, limited availability and high costs due to the time-consuming and energy-intensive fabrication process. Alternatively, tape stacks of HTS-coated conductors might be used for these devices promising an improved bearing efficiency due to a simplification of manufacturing processes for the required shapes, higher mechanical strength, improved thermal performance, higher availability and therefore potentially reduced costs.