General Electric Company

Melissa L Murray

Mark Gilbert Benz

Thomas Robert Raber

Neil A Johnson

Bruce Alan Knudsen

Robert John Zabala

Louis E Hibbs, Jr

Anthony Mantone

Howard Roscoe Hart, Jr

Christopher G King

Paul Frederick Browning

A tin alloy bath with controlled iron content is used for coating a niobium-base substrate with tin in a manufacturing process for triniobium tin superconductor. One hundred twenty-five parts per million by weight or less of iron is used in tin alloy baths to increase the reaction kinetics of the formation of the superconductor material.

Method for improving quality of triniobium tin superconductor in manufacturing environment by controlling iron content in molten tin bath

Nb--Sn precursor articles are described that include a Nb alloy article that is at least partially coated with a layer of a Sn alloy, such as a Sn--Cu alloy. The precursor articles described herein have a controlled concentration of the impurity elements As and S in the Sn alloy layer. The concentration of these elements in the Sn alloy layer is less than or equal to 50 ppm by weight. This invention also describes a method for making Nb--Sn precursor articles having a controlled concentration of As and S impurities.

Nb--Sn precursors having controlled impurities and method of making

Foil used in the manufacture of superconductor material is cleaned using a mechanical abrasive pad that produces longitudinal hills and valleys or elliptical swirls on the surface of both sides of the foil to yield high quality and uniform superconductors.

Cleaning method for foil

Foils used to manufacture superconductor materials can effectively be cleaned by heat treatment prior to anodization and further processing steps. The heat treatment can be in conjunction with other cleaning processes or separate.

Enhanced method for cleaning foil

The solid-liquid diffusion process used to form triniobium tin superconductor is improved by oxidizing the tin coated niobium substrate with an oxide layer on the surface of the tin coat after tin dipping. The oxide layer can be added to the tin coat by passing the tin coated niobium substrate through an oxidizing chamber before the reaction anneal step, by adding oxygen to the reaction anneal furnace with argon or helium, by adding oxygen to the cooling tower immediately after the tin dipping process, or by controlling the exit temperature of the tin coated substrate from the tin dip in room atmosphere conditions.

Method of forming triniobium tin superconductor

A method for making triniobium tin superconductor with improved critical current density is disclosed where an annealed niobium-base substrate is passed through a tin alloy bath containing tin, copper, and bismuth, to coat the substrate with tin and then annealing the coated substrate to form triniobium tin superconductor. A tin alloy bath containing up to twenty weight percent copper and up to one weight percent bismuth is disclosed.

Method for forming triniobium tin superconductor with bismuth

A method is described which increases the critical current of triniobium tin by bonding thermal contraction control layers to the triniobium tin superconducting articles at a process temperature to form a composite, and subsequently cooling the composite to a test temperature.

Method for enhancing critical current of triniobium tin

A method for making triniobium tin foil is disclosed where the niobium-based foil with an oxide layer is passed continuously at a set speed into an enclosed chamber. The enclosed chamber has an inert atmosphere which is substantially oxygen free. Upon entering the chamber, the foil passes through a decomposition anneal furnace, a low temperature tin dip, and then a high temperature reaction anneal furnace before exiting the chamber as triniobium tin foil.

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Schaghticoke, NY, United States of America

Melissa L Murray