Manufacturing of the Stainless-Steel Sheathed Magnesium Diboride Superconductor Wire

Abstract

The Powder in Tube (PIT) method was utilized to manufacture the MgB2-based monofilament wire. The ground powders of Mg and B were filled in the stainless-steel tube and went through a cold-rolling process. In order to avoid oxidation, the wire was cut and packed into the stainless-steel tube before sintering at various temperatures (873, 973, and 1073 K). We offer this heating process in a tube as a method that was both practical and efficient. The formation of the MgB2 phase was analyzed using an X-ray diffractometer post-sintering. At the sintering temperature of 973 K, the MgB2 phase was formed which contained small amounts of magnesium oxide. The sample sintered at 973 K showed superconducting properties, with a critical temperature zero (Tc-zero) and onset (Tc-onset) of 34.09 K and 41.33 K, respectively. A large gap between Tc-onset and Tc-zero was indicated by the insufficient fraction of the MgB2 phase that formed. However, MgB2-based superconducting wire was successfully manufactured in the required tube utilizing a vacuum-free heating process and only a small amount of magnesium oxide.