Mode I type interlaminar fracture toughness of Cu plated Gd-YBCO coated conductor

The mode I type fracture toughness tests using DCB (Double Cantilever Beam) specimens were applied for a newly developed Gd- YBCO coated conductor with modified buffer layers in order to quantitatively characterize the delamination resistance. The fracture toughness values were about 5 to 10 J/m2. EDS, XPS and AES analyses of the delaminated surface showed that the fracture location of the layered structure was categorized as the following two parts; Gd-YBCO layer and GZO/Hastelloy interface. Since the delamination locations were localized within rather brittle components, the delamination toughness of this Gd-YBCO coated conductor was rather low.