Performance and Microstructure Variation with Maximum Heat Treatment Temperature for Recent Bi-2212 Round Wires

Bi-2212 is the only high temperature superconducting wire with the round geometry. It is multifilamentary, available in a wide range of fine filaments and twisted filament architectures and can be made into Rutherford and other cables. The properties of Bi-2212 conductors depend on powder quality, conductor fabrication and heat treatment. The heat treatment is still complex but much better understood, particularly the vital parameters of the maximum heat treatment temperature ( T _max ), time-in-the-melt ( t _melt ) and the cooling rate as Bi-2212 reforms on cooling. Here we report on the performance and microstructure variation with heat treatments for more than a dozen wires made with powders produced by Engi-Mat in recent years. Wire architectures include 37 × 18, 55 × 18 and 85x18 and wire diameters range from 0.8 to 1.0 mm. T _max was varied between 884 and 897 °C. Wires with smaller filament diameter showed a peak J_E at the low end of T _{ma x} and also a J_E that was more sensitive to T _max . J_E ( T _max ) plots for all recent wires show a plateau between T _max of 886 and 894 °C, where J_E (4.2 K, 5 T) is 1100–1400 A/mm ² . Some wires with filament size of 13–15 μm showed a 10 °C heat treatment window ( Δ T _max ) with a plateau J_E (4.2 K, 5 T) of about 1100 A/mm ² .