Refinement of Nb3Sn grain size by the generation of ZrO2 precipitates in Nb3Sn wires

In this Letter, we demonstrate that if oxygen can be properly supplied to (Nb-Zr)-Sn wires, ZrO2 precipitates will form during the heat treatment, refining the Nb3Sn grain size markedly. Here, a Nb3Sn subelement was fabricated in which Nb-1Zr alloy was used, and oxygen was supplied via SnO2 powder....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2014-02, Vol.104 (8)
Main Authors: Xu X, Sumption, M, Peng, X, Collings, E W
Format: Article
Language:eng ; jpn
Subjects:
Applied physics
Chemical precipitation
Conductors
Grain size
Heat treatment
Intermetallic compounds
Magnetic measurement
Niobium base alloys
Niobium stannides
Oxygen
Precipitates
Tin dioxide
Zirconium dioxide
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Summary:In this Letter, we demonstrate that if oxygen can be properly supplied to (Nb-Zr)-Sn wires, ZrO2 precipitates will form during the heat treatment, refining the Nb3Sn grain size markedly. Here, a Nb3Sn subelement was fabricated in which Nb-1Zr alloy was used, and oxygen was supplied via SnO2 powder. The results showed that such a design could supply sufficient oxygen to internally oxidize the Zr in the Nb-1Zr alloy, and that the sample reacted at 650 °C had grain sizes of ∼45 nm, less than half the size of the grains in present Nb3Sn conductors. Magnetic measurements showed that the peak of the pinning force vs. field (Fp-B) curve was shifted to ∼0.3Birr (the irreversibility field).
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4866865