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Advances in Superconducting Materials: From Structure and Properties to Applications
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Advances in Superconducting Materials: From Structure and Properties to Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Quantum Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2027 | Viewed by 2975

Editors

Dr. Donghui Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanics and Engineering Sciences, College of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: superconducting magnets; high-temperature superconducting tape and cables; multi-physics coupling modelling; nonlinear mechanical behaviour; computational methods for electromagnetic field simulation; thermal stability; quench protection; cohesive zone model; fracture mechanics
Dr. Hongye Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Energy Systems, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Interests: electric machines and drives; clean energy conversion; superconductor technology; cryogenic techniques; hydrogen energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Baoqiang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanics and Engineering Sciences, College of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: advanced manufacturing of superconducting materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Exhibiting excellent electromagnetic properties such as zero resistance, the Meissner effect and the Josephson effect, superconducting materials facilitate advances in the development of various technologies, including quantum computing (via Josephson junction-based qubits), magnetic confinement fusion (through high-field magnets), and lossless power grids. They additionally advance ultra-high-speed maglev transportation and high-precision medical imaging. However, many challenges still remain in the applications of superconductors. For example, quenching can cause superconducting materials to lose their superconductivity and can even burn out superconducting devices, and critical currents of superconductors degrade significantly when subjected to small strains (i.e., an irreversible strain of less than 1%).

This Special Issue focuses on innovations in the development of superconducting materials regarding their structure, properties, and application. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: experimental, theoretical and numerical studies on microstructures; pinning properties; the vortex dynamics of superconductors; the additive manufacturing of superconducting materials; the electromagnetic–thermal–mechanical performance of superconducting thin films, conductors, cables, and magnets. We welcome original research, methodological developments, and review articles.

Dr. Donghui Liu
Dr. Hongye Zhang
Dr. Baoqiang Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • superconducting materials
  • microstructural characterization and analysis
  • pinning properties and vortex dynamics
  • additive manufacturing
  • superconducting thin films, conductors, cables, and magnets
  • multi-physics characterization
  • simulation and modelling approaches
  • quench detection and protection

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 9891 KB  
Article
Study on Electromagnetic Thermal Characteristics of Stacked REBCO Tapes Under Alternating Current with DC Bias
by Wei Chen, Yang Bai, Rong Jin, Fei Chi and Xinsheng Yang
Materials 2026, 19(10), 1949; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19101949 - 9 May 2026
Viewed by 381
Abstract
In practical applications, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables or magnets may carry AC with DC bias, such as in superferric magnets, which can increase the AC loss of the cables or magnets. When the DC bias current is high, the resulting high loss can [...] Read more.
In practical applications, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables or magnets may carry AC with DC bias, such as in superferric magnets, which can increase the AC loss of the cables or magnets. When the DC bias current is high, the resulting high loss can lead to a significant temperature rise in the cable or magnet and may even cause quench. Furthermore, different waveforms of the alternating current also result in different losses and temperature rises. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the AC loss of the cable under different current waveforms and DC bias levels using an electromagnetic–thermal coupling method. In this paper, an electromagnetic–thermal coupling model is used to investigate the AC loss and temperature rise characteristics of four stacked REBCO tapes under four typical current waveforms and various DC bias levels. The actual multilayer structure of REBCO tapes is considered in the numerical simulation, which facilitates the analysis of current distribution among different layers and its contribution to the total loss of the stacked cable. The results show that under zero DC bias or a small DC bias (0.1Idc), the square-wave current yields the largest AC loss, while the triangular-wave current results in the smallest AC loss. The losses generated by the sawtooth and sinusoidal currents are comparable and intermediate between those of the two aforementioned waveforms. When the DC bias current is moderate (0.5Idc) and the amplitude of the alternating current is greater than 0.5Icable, the loss of the cable increases rapidly. The loss generated by the square-wave current is the largest, followed by the sinusoidal current, while the sawtooth and triangular currents produce the smallest losses. When the DC bias current is high (0.9Idc), even a small amplitude alternating current results in high AC loss in the cable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Superconducting Materials: From Structure and Properties to Applications)
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19 pages, 1506 KB  
Article
Optically Activated Superconductivity in MgB2 via Electroluminescent GaP Inhomogeneous Phase
by Yao Qi, Duo Chen, Qingyu Hai, Xiaoyan Li and Xiaopeng Zhao
Materials 2026, 19(7), 1456; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19071456 - 5 Apr 2026
Viewed by 611
Abstract
Experimental results suggest a feasible strategy for tuning the superconducting properties of MgB2 through the incorporation of an electroluminescent inhomogeneous phase. By introducing GaP electroluminescent inhomogeneous phases into MgB2, the effects of emission intensity variation on the sample structure, superconducting [...] Read more.
Experimental results suggest a feasible strategy for tuning the superconducting properties of MgB2 through the incorporation of an electroluminescent inhomogeneous phase. By introducing GaP electroluminescent inhomogeneous phases into MgB2, the effects of emission intensity variation on the sample structure, superconducting transition temperature, electrical transport behavior, and magnetic properties were systematically investigated. The results show that, at a fixed GaP addition level, the superconducting transition temperature Tc increases steadily from 38.2 K to 39.6 K with increasing emission intensity of the inhomogeneous phase, corresponding to a maximum enhancement of approximately 1.4 K. Meanwhile, the zero-resistance temperature shifts upward synchronously, indicating that the entire superconducting transition region moves toward higher temperatures. Raman measurements show that the peak position and linewidth of the E2g phonon mode evolve systematically with emission intensity, while the electron–phonon coupling parameter λ exhibits a trend consistent with that of Tc. In addition, the nanoscale dispersed distribution of the GaP inhomogeneous phase, together with the interface/defect structures it introduces, appears to promote sample densification and enhance flux pinning, resulting in an increase in the critical current density Jc by approximately 69% at 20 K in self-field and an enhancement of the irreversibility field Hirr by about 31.5%. These results suggest that, beyond the effect of static inhomogeneous-phase incorporation, the luminescence-activated state under bias excitation is likely involved in modulating the superconducting response of MgB2. This work provides a new experimental perspective for synergistically regulating the properties of conventional superconductors through the combined effects of inhomogeneous phases and excited states. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Superconducting Materials: From Structure and Properties to Applications)
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20 pages, 3976 KB  
Article
Multiscale Mechanical Responses of the Racetrack NbTi Superconducting Coil Under Dynamic Pressures
by Wei Liu, Lianchun Wang, Peng Ma, Yong Li, Wentao Zhang, Peichang Yu, Qiang Chen, Yongbin Wang and Weiwei Zhang
Materials 2025, 18(17), 4072; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18174072 - 30 Aug 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1153
Abstract
Racetrack NbTi superconducting coil is a key component in Maglev train systems due to its excellent mechanical processing performance and lower construction cost. However, dynamic pressures during high-speed operations can influence contact pressures and cause internal filament damage, leading to critical current degradation [...] Read more.
Racetrack NbTi superconducting coil is a key component in Maglev train systems due to its excellent mechanical processing performance and lower construction cost. However, dynamic pressures during high-speed operations can influence contact pressures and cause internal filament damage, leading to critical current degradation and quench, which threaten the stable operation of the superconducting magnet. Considering that the NbTi coil has a typical hierarchical structure and comprises thousands of filaments, this study constructs an efficient multiscale framework combining the finite element method (FEM) and self-consistent clustering analysis (SCA) to study the multiscale responses of the NbTi coil. The mechanical responses of the two-scale racetrack coil under monotonic and periodic pressures are investigated, and the effects of the friction contacts between strands are also discussed. The study reveals that internal contacts significantly influence local contact pressures and microscopic stresses, and periodic loading leads to stress accumulation with cycle times. The proposed framework efficiently captures critical microscale responses and can be applied to other multiscale materials and structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Superconducting Materials: From Structure and Properties to Applications)
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