TEXTURE DEVELOPMENT IN BI-SR-CA-CU-O (BPSCCO) AND AG-BPSCCO SUPERCONDUCTOR THROUGH ZONE-MELTING REFINING

A horizontal sample holding novel zone melting refining technique for incorporating grain orientation in sintered Bi-based superconductor (B PSCCO) strips is presented. A three zone furnace having independent te mperature controls and a rate of zone movement of 30 mm/h was used, Wh ile a-b plane oriented grains appear in BPSCCO samples, in Ag-BPSCCO c omposites the ductile silver is seen to flow along the intergranular b oundaries of BPSCCO grains.