Plastic Vortex Motion
Triangular pins

The movie shows the initial penetration of a flux front into a sample with a triangular array of pinning sites. We add vortices at a constant rate to an unpinned region at the left edge of the sample, creating a gradient in vortex density that drives the vortices into the pinned region. Circles represent vortices, and lines are drawn tracing the path each vortex follows through the sample.

The parabolic pins in this sample are in a triangular array at a density of n_p = 0.44 (Pinning site density) and are all of strength f_p = 1.5 (Pinning site strength) Vortices that fall into the strong pinning sites remain pinned for the rest of the movie and repel the other vortices moving through the sample, creating channels of vortex motion between the rows of pinning sites.

Parameters and Notes

• A_p = 1.5 (Pinning strength)
• r_pin = 0.35 (Pinning radius)
• N_pin = 275 (Number of pinning sites)
• Parabolic triangular pinning
• All the pinning sites are the same strength.
• Vortices dropped every 40 md steps.
• Up to 600 vortices dropped, total.
• Movie was written every 20 md steps.

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Created by: Cynthia Olson and Jared Groth
Last modified: 12/18/96