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Title: The fabrication and superconducting properties of multifilamentary Nb/sub 3/Sn with a Mg-doped bronze

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6320035

Multifilamentary Nb/sub 3/Sn superconducting wires were fabricated by the ''internal bronze'' process. The conductor contained 133 niobium filaments in a Cu-Sn or Cu-Sn-Mg bronze matrix which had a composition of 6.7 at. % Sn. Up to 0.62 at. % Mg was added to the bronze. The wires were aged between 650-780/sup 0/C. The Nb/sub 3/Sn formed at different rates in each wire. Near complete filament conversion to Nb/sub 3/Sn, the Mg-doped wires have much higher normalized critical currents, I/sub cNb/, (4.2K,10T) all aging temperatures. However, for some aging temperatures the I/sub cNb/ of the Mg-free wire is higher than those of the Mg-doped wires when compared at partial filament conversion, approximately 50%. When the wires with 0.62 at. % Mg and no Mg are compared at near complete reaction, the Mg-doped wire is seen to give a 100 to 150% increase in I/sub cNb/ for magnetic fields of 10T(4.2K). A 0.10 at. % Mg addition to the high tin wire does not increase the critical current density above that of the Mg-free wire for aging temperatures below 750/sup 0/C. Since the niobium filaments in the Mg-free wire have a much smaller diameter than those in the Mg-doped wire it appears that filament size, i.e., interface curvature, may play a more dominant role in the Nb/sub 3/Sn layer formation. During wire heat treatment, essentially all of the magnesium in the bronze diffuses to the Nb/sub 3/Sn layer, leaving little residue in the matrix. The magnesium distribution across the layer is not uniform; the magnesium appears to congregate at the Nb/sub 3/Sn-bronze interface. The addition of 0.62 at. % Mg to the low-tin bronze wire increases the layer growth exponent by a factor of two. This increase is associated with the change in chemical composition of the Nb/sub 3/Sn layer.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
6320035
Report Number(s):
LBL-16157; ON: DE87012875
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (M.S.). Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English