Papers by Keyword: MgB₂ Superconductor

Abstract: High Tc MgB2 superconductors were fabricated using the ex-situ and in-situ powder in tube (PIT) technique. During treatment, the precursor materials were shock consolidated under high strain-rates using PETN as the explosive medium. After compaction, the superconducting properties of the steel-sheathed MgB2 samples were examined by means of magnetization measurements using a SQUID magnetometer. Bean’s critical state model was applied to investigate the critical current density characteristics of the samples at fields up to 5T. The superconducting transition temperature of the specimens was determined by examining the material temperature dependence of magnetisation in zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) states. An assessment of the explosive compaction technique was carried out by simulating the procedure using the LS-DYNA explicit finite element code. The sample is modelled as a porous soil-like material with a customised yield surface. The numerically estimated final product dimensions, porosity and hardness are compared to the experimental results; furthermore, the numerically obtained pressure, temperature and strain rate profiles are used to assess the efficiency of the compaction process for different explosive quantities and powder compositions.

Abstract: The present study focuses on the preparation of good quality MgB2 superconductor in bulk, wire/tape forms and on the improvement of in-field critical current density [JC(H)]. MgB2 bulk superconductor was prepared by a simple Powder-In-Sealed-Tube (PIST) method and MgB2 wires and tapes were prepared by the Powder-In-Tube (PIT) method. A novel electrical self-heating method was introduced for the preparation of Fe sheathed MgB2 wires and tapes. Burned Rice Husk (BRH), an inexpensive natural material is found to be one of the best additives for enhancing the in-field critical current density of MgB2. By selecting suitable combinations of additives a significant enhancement of the critical current density by 1-2 orders of magnitude were achieved for fields > 5 T, at 5-15 K.

Abstract: The potential of X-ray micro-tomography in characterizing the relevant material issues as identified during manufacturing processes was investigated. For this purpose, the 3D X-ray micro-tomography (XµRT) analysis was applied to the characterization of structural integrity of Nb3Sn superconducting wires of differing topology and the evolution of the density distribution of ceramic samples manufactured by Field Assisted Sintering Techniques (FAST). The latter technique was used to consolidate the ceramic, metal (Ni) and composite powders (MgB2). The usual scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique was enhanced by the high resolution XµRT in order to describe the volumetric density distribution before sintering and at different moments of the thermal cycle. Two types of samples sintered Ni and high density MgB2 superconductors with typical volume of 0.8÷1.5⋅10-9 m3 were sampled at space resolution around 5µm. For the sintered Ni, the 3D reconstructed volumes revealed the grain connectivity, necks formation and particle rearrangement in the densification process. The XµRT analysis was essential in explaining the differences in superconducting properties of MgB2 samples in terms of different volumetric structures. For the Nb3Sn multifilamentary wire which is at basis of many practical superconductors, the 3D tomography enabled the determination of the number of inter-filament contacts as well as the twist-pitch parameter. Advantages of our method versus the invasive etching techniques for the determination of the twist-pitch parameter were outlined.

Abstract: Bulk samples with the stoichiometry of Mg:B=1:2 and 1:4 were prepared by solid state reaction method. The microstructure and constituent of the samples were investigated by using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the x-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD results showed that the MgB2 phase was first formed in all the samples with different stoichiometry of Mg and B, which indicated that the MgB2 was the most thermodynamically stable phase in the Mg-B binary system. For the samples of Mg:B=1:2, the MgB2 single phase was formed very well when these samples were sintered at 650°C~700°C. For the samples with later added Mg reaching to the stoichiometry of Mg:B=1:2, a longer reaction time or higher reaction temperature was required for the formation of the MgB2 single phase. The SEM results showed that the samples with later added Mg had dense microstructures, suggesting that the later addition of Mg could reduce the porosity of the sample. A small increase of the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, in the Mg addition sample resulted from the dense microstructures.

Abstract: Generally, two basic routes called as in-situ and ex-situ process are used for composite MgB2 wires now. Mentioned processes have been used for making of single-core composite wires. The applied heat treatment parameters influence the microstructure of MgB2 phase, critical temperature and critical current density, but it has also decisive effect on the MgB2/metal reaction. It was found that the transport current densities are much more sensitive to the used sheath material than critical temperatures. The main factors limiting the transport current density are cracks introduced by deformation and porosity caused by the boron diffusion in ex-situ and in-situ wires, respectively.

Abstract: MgB2 polycrystalline bulk samples with additions of 0, 5, 10 and 20% wt.% nano-sized BN powders were prepared using the reaction in-situ method. All the samples were sintered at 850°C for 1h in Ar. All the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and magnetic measurements. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the BN does not react with Mg and B during the heat treatment and remains as a separate phase. The synthesized materials thus contain two separate BN and MgB2 phases. In addition, the samples contain a small, almost constant amount of MgO. SEM shows that the samples contain MgB2 grains with average grain sizes of about 250 nm. Magnetic measurement results show that the critical current density and irreversibility fields decrease slightly as the BN level increases. The Tc drops slightly from 38.9 to 38.2 K and has a sharp transition with a transition width of less than 1 K. The field dependence of Jc for all the samples is also presented.