Investigation of Layered Structure Formation in MgB2 Wires Produced by the Internal Mg Coating Process under Low and High Isostatic Pressures.

Currently, MgB2 wires made by the powder-in-tube (PIT) method are most often used in the construction and design of superconducting devices. In this work, we investigated the impact of heat treatment under both low and high isostatic pressures on the formation of a layered structure in PIT MgB2 wires manufactured using the Mg coating method. The microstructure, chemical composition, and density of the obtained superconductive wires were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyzer and optical microscopy with Kameram CMOS software (version 2.11.5.6). Transport measurements of critical parameters were made by using the Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) for 100 mA and 19 Hz in a perpendicular magnetic field. We observed that the Mg coating method can significantly reduce the reactions of B with the Fe sheath. Moreover, the shape, uniformity, and continuity of the layered structure (cracks, gaps) depend on the homogeneity of the B layer before the synthesis reaction. Additionally, the formation of a layered structure depends on the annealing temperature (for Mg in the liquid or solid-state), isostatic pressure, type of boron, and density of layer B before the synthesis reaction.

Influence of Amorphous Boron Grain Size, High Isostatic Pressure, Annealing Temperature, and Filling Density of Unreacted Material on Structure, Critical Parameters, N-Value, and Engineering Critical Current Density in Mgb2 Wires.

Our results show that a lower density of unreacted Mg + B material during an Mg solid-state synthesis reaction leads to a significant reduction in the quantity of the superconducting phase and lowers the homogeneity of the superconducting material. It also significantly reduces the irreversible magnetic field (Birr), critical temperature (Tc), upper magnetic field (Bc2), engineered critical current density (Jec), and n-value, despite high isostatic pressure (HIP) treatment and the use of nanoboron in the sample. Our measurements show that samples with large boron grains with an 8% higher density of unreacted Mg + B material allow better critical parameters to be achieved. Studies have shown that the density of unreacted material has little effect on Birr, Tc, Bc2, Jec, and the n-value for an Mg liquid-state synthesis reaction. The results show that the critical parameters during an Mg liquid-state synthesis reaction depend mainly on grain size. Nanoboron grains allow for the highest Birr, Tc, Bc2, Jec, and n-values. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images taken from the longitudinal sections of the wires show that the samples annealed under low isostatic pressure have a highly heterogeneous structure. High isostatic pressure heat treatment greatly improves the homogeneity of MgB2.