Simulation of the critical current density and its dependence on geometrical factors in RABiTS based coated conductors

The conductor width dependence of the critical current density J(c) in the grain boundary network occurring in RABiTS based coated conductors is simulated using experimentally obtained electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) maps and the exponential dependence of the critical current density on the misorientation angle. It is found that a conductor width of around 20 grains (of average size) is sufficient to pass 90% of the maximum current density, independent of texture quality and grain aspect ratio in the current direction. The aspect ratio does however influence the absolute value of J(c), giving higher J(c) values for higher aspect ratios. These results are in good agreement with J(c) simulations based on purely statistical grain boundary distributions.