Aluminum‐Stabilized Magnesium Diboride Superconductors

Abstract

Use of aluminum as stabilizer and iron as reaction barrier for fabrication of MgB2 superconductor wires was studied. The MgB2/Fe/Al or SiC doped MgB2/Fe/Al composite wires were made using Mg+ 2 B powder or SiC doped Mg+2 B powder in Fe/Al tube technique. The composites were processed at 600°C to 650°C for 30 minutes to 3 hours to study the interaction between Fe and Al sheath and the formation of MgB2. No reaction between Fe and Al was found until annealing temperature at 620°C for 30 minutes. A thin layer of alloy, FeAl3 is formed for samples annealed at 620°C for 90 minutes and the reaction layer increases with increasing annealing temperature. Annealing at 650°C resulted in cracks in the Al sheath. Our results show that the Fe/Al sheathed wires achieved the same performance in magnetic and electrical properties as those using an all‐Fe sheath. Comparing with the standard NbTi/Cu conductors, the MgB2/Fe/Al conductor having low structural mass, greater thermal conductivity and high efficient stabilizatio...