Abstract
The route that combines with the mechanically alloying (MA) and powder-in-tube (PIT) method is thought as a potential way to make cost-friendly Nb3Al superconducting wire, since the MA could produce the high-quality Nb(Al)ss supersaturated solid solution and thus obtain high-Jc Nb3Al superconductor. In order to know the effect of hot-pressure (HP) sintering on superconducting properties and flux pinning of Nb3Al, a series of Nb3Al superconducting bulks annealed at 950 °C for 3 h with different sintering pressure and ball milling time have been prepared in this work. The results suggest that for the mechanically alloyed Nb3Al superconductor, its critical current density (Jc) and superconducting transition temperature (Tc) can be significantly improved by HP sintering. Comparing with the atmosphere pressure (AP) sintering, the Tc, onset and Jc (8 K, 7 T) of HP Nb3Al sample with a milling time of 2 h increase from 15.1 K and 0.56 × 104 A/cm2 to 15.7 K and 6.03 × 104 A/cm2, respectively. Improvement of grain connectivity and flux pinning properties are thought to be mainly responsible to the enhancement of current-carrying ability of HP Nb3Al superconductor.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Yamada, Y., et al.: Development of Nb3Al superconductors for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Cryogenics. 39, 115–122 (1999)
Takeuchi, T.: Nb3Al conductors for high-field applications. Supercond. Sci. Technol. 13, R101–R119 (2000)
Iijima, Y., Kosuge, M., Takeuchi, T., Inoue, K.: Superconducting properties of Nb3Al multifilamentary wires fabricated continuously by rapid-quenching. Adv. Cryo. Eng. 42, 1447–1454 (1997)
Kikuchi, A., Iijima, Y., Nimori, S., Tsuchiya, K., Takao, T.: Fabrication of Nb3Al superconducting wires through rapid heating/quenching in open air. 29, 6000805 (2019)
Takeuchi, T., et al.: Manufacture and superconductivity of tantalum matrix RHQT processed Nb3Al superconductors. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 15, 3372–3375 (2005)
Takeuchi, T., et al.: A new RHQT Nb3Al superconducting wire with a Ta/Cu/Ta three-layer filament-barrier structure. Supercond. Sci. Technol. 25, 65016–65023 (2012)
Tagawa, K., et al.: Trial to incorporate Cu stabilizer in rapid-quenching processed Nb3Al wires. Adv. Cryog. Eng. 46, 975–980 (2000)
Banno N, Takeuchi T, Iijima Y, Nishijima G, Kitaguchi H, Miyashita K.: Development of Ag-barrier RHQT Nb3Al wires, ASC2016-3MPo1D-02 (2016)
Hellstern, E., Schultz, L., Bormann, R., Lee, D.: Phase formation in mechanically alloyed Nb-Al powders. Appl. Phys. Lett. 53, 1399–1401 (1997)
Dymek, S., Dollar, M., Leonard, K.: Synthesis and characterization of mechanically alloyed Nb3Al-base alloys. Materials Science & Engineering A. 239–240, 507–514 (1997)
Kim, H.S., Kum, D., Hanada, S.: Structural evolution during mechanical alloying and annealing of a Nb-25 at.%Al alloy. J. Mater. Sci. 35, 235–239 (2000)
Li, P.Y., et al.: Phase formation and superconducting properties of mechanically alloyed Nb3(Al1−xGex) system. Supercond. Sci. Technol. 29, 75001–75009 (2016)
Pan, X.F., et al.: Fabrication of Nb3Al superconducting wires by utilizing the mechanically alloyed Nb(Al)ss supersaturated solid-solution with low-temperature annealing. Physica C. 502, 14–19 (2014)
Lijima, Y., et al.: Nb3Al multifilamentary wires continuously fabricated by rapid- quenching. Adv. Cryo. Eng. 40, 899–905 (1994)
Cui, L.J., et al.: Fabrication and superconducting properties of a simple-structured jelly-roll Nb3Al wire with low-temperature heat-treatment. Physica C. 513, 24–28 (2015)
Fuchs, G., et al.: High trapped fields in bulk MgB2 prepared by hot-pressing of ball-milled precursor powder. Supercond. Sci. Technol. 26, 265–292 (2013)
Zhang, Z.W., et al.: The effect of hot isostatic pressure on the microstructure and critical current of Bi-2223/Ag superconducting tapes. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 19, 3045–3048 (2009)
Larbalestier, D.C., et al.: Isotropic round-wire multifilament cuprate superconductor for generation of magnetic fields above 30 T. Nat. Mater. 13, 375–381 (2014)
Lin, H., et al.: Strongly enhanced current densities in Sr0.6K0.4Fe2As2+Sn superconducting tapes. Sci. Rep. 4, 1–9 (2014)
Lijima, Y., Kikuchi, A., Inoue, K., Takeuchi, T.: Effects of additional elements to Nb3Al multifilamentary wire fabricated by rapid-heating/quenching process. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 9, 2696–2701 (1999)
Nabiałek, A., et al.: Giant magnetostriction and flux jumps in superconducting Nb3Al polycrystalline slab. J. Low Temp. Phys. 139, 239–246 (2005)
Funding
This work was supported by the National High-Level Young Talents Project for Dr. X.F. Pan, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51877180 and 51702319), and the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFE0301401).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pan, X.F., Lin, H., Xu, T. et al. Significant Influences of Hot-Pressure Sintering on Critical Current Density, Grain Connectivity, and Flux Pinning in Mechanically Alloyed Nb3Al Superconducting Bulk. J Supercond Nov Magn 33, 3417–3424 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10948-020-05633-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10948-020-05633-9