LARGE CURRENT HIGH T-C SUPERCONDUCTING RODS FOR CURRENT LEAD APPLICATIONS

The high critical temperature and low thermal conductivity of ceramic superconductors make them suitable for current leads in low T-c magnet s. The plastic extrusion process was applied for the fabrication of YB CO and BSCCO this application. The platelet BSCCO was utilized to proc ess rods with a high degree of preferred orientation, through combinat ion of plastic extrusion and cold isostatic pressing. Rods with consis tent current capacities of a few hundred amperes over 15 cm have been fabricated. The critical currents of these rods were measured at vario us temperatures and magnetic fields. Other related aspects such as con tact resistance, mechanical properties and degradation due to thermal cycling have also been evaluated.