Influence of the iron sheath on the local supercurrent distribution in MgB2 wires

The magnetic behavior of iron sheathed magnesium diboride (MgB2) wires was investigated. Global magnetization measurements have shown unusual critical current density variations compare to a superconductor with no magnetic environment. Local quantitative studies, through MO images, are linked to these global magnetization measurements in order to better understand the observed results. It is shown that the current distribution is affected by the soft magnetic sheath interacting with the superconducting core.