Reinforcement of bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors by using Fe-Mn-Si-Ni shape memory alloy rings

Bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors are brittle ceramics and their tensional strengths are very low. Therefore, reinforcement of the bulk superconductor is needed for practical applications. Pre-compression load has been shown to be effective in enforcing the bulk superconductors. Fe-Mn-Si alloys exhibit shape-memory effects and the size change due to the shape recovery is large. Therefore, the Fe-Mn-Si shape memory alloy rings will function as effective reinforcement material for the bulk superconductors. We prepared Y-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors with top-seeded melt-growth process and the Ni added Fe-Mn-Si (Fe-Mn-Si-Ni) alloy ring which exhibited better shape memory performances than Ni-free Fe-Mn-Si alloys. The ring was extended by inserting a steel rod and heated to 623K. The amount of shape recovery strain was about 2%. Based on these results, the TSMG-processed bulk YBa- Cu-O superconductor 39.0 mm in diameter was inserted into the Fe-Mn-Si-Ni ring whose inner diameter was 39.3 mm at room temperature. With heating to 623K, the Fe-Mn-Si-Ni ring shrank and firmly encapsulated the bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductor. Cracking was not observed in the bulk superconductor. It was interesting to note that the trapped magnetic field of the Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductor at 77K was increased from 2,550 G to 3,795 G through Fe-Mn-Si-Ni ring reinforcement. These results clearly show that the reinforcement treatment with Fe-Mn-Si-Ni alloy ring or pre-compression load is effective in improving the field trapping ability in addition to thee improvement of the mechanical properties.