3 research outputs found
Niobium based intermetallics as a source of high-current/high-magnetic field superconductors
The article is focused on low temperature intermetallic A15 superconducting
wires development for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, NMR, and Nuclear Magnetic
Imaging, MRI, magnets and also on cryogen-free magnets. There are many other
applications which would benefit from new development such as future Large
Hadron Collider to be built from A15 intermetallic conductors. This paper
highlights the current status of development of the niobium based
intermetallics with special attention to Nb 3 (Al 1-x, Ge x). Discussion is
focused on the materials science aspects of conductor manufacture, such as
b-phase (A15) formation, with particular emphasis on the maximisation of the
superconducting parameters, such as critical current density, Jc, critical
temperature, Tc, and upper critical field, Hc2 . Many successful manufacturing
techniques of the potential niobium-aluminide intermetallic superconducting
conductors, such as solid-state processing, liquid-solid processing, rapid
heating/cooling processes, are described, compared and assessed. Special
emphasis has been laid on conditions under which the Jc (B) peak effect occurs
in some of the Nb3(Al,Ge) wires. A novel electrodeoxidizing method developed in
Cambridge whereby the alloys and intermetallics are produced cheaply making all
superconducting electromagnetic devices, using low cost LTCs, more cost
effective is presented.This new technique has potential to revolutionise the
existing superconducting industry enabling reduction of cost orders of
magnitude.Comment: Paper presented at EUCAS'01 conference, Copenhagen, 26-30 August 200