Engineered flux pinning centres in Pb-doped high temperature superconducting “Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8” ceramics

The Pb solubility of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ is determined within the concentration range Bi_2.18-x Pb _x Sr₂CaCu_8+d with 0 x 0.6 and the temperature range from 800 to 900°C. From a consideration of the Pb solubility in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ a simple annealing procedure was developed to precipitate (Pb,Bi)₄(Sr,Ca)₅Cu0_10+d (451 phase) in high-temperature superconducting Pb-rich Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ ceramics. The precipitation results in a two-fold increase of the critical current density which is believed to express improved pinning properties of the superconducting ceramics. The microstructures of the samples with increased critical current density were studied with respect to the grain size and volume content of the 451 phase.     

Preparation of superconducting Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O ceramics by the sol-gel method

Superconducting Bi-(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O ceramics were prepared through the sol-gel method using an aqueous solution of metal acetates containing acetic acid and tartaric acid. The conditions of gelation and conversion of gel to Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_x phase were studied by thermal analysis, infrared absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction technique. It was found that transparent gels were obtained from the solutions containing tartaric acid, with a molar ratio of C₄H₆O₆/Cu of about 0.4. The gel matrix was assumed to be composed of carboxylate anions and metal cations. A gel of molar composition BiSrCaCu = 2223 was decomposed to CaCO₃, CaO, CuO and Bi_1-x Sr_xO_y (x = 0.2 to 0.3) at low temperatures of 270 to 600 ° C and produced Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_x phase at 800 ° C via complex intermediate states. A rapid cooling of the heated product increasedT _c (end) in the gel of molar composition BiSrCaCu = 2223, while a slow cooling increasedT _c (end) in the lead-containing gel of molar composition BiPbSrCaCu = 1.850.351.92.03.1. The latter showedT _c (onset) at 115 K andT _c (end) at 105K.     

Thermodynamic properties of the superconductorsBaPb 0.7 Bi 0.3 O 3 andBa 0.7 K 0.3 BiO 3 using Eliashberg theory

We present results of a thermodynamic analysis for the superconductors compounds BaPb_0.7Bi_0.3O₃ and Ba_0.7K_0.3BiO₃. The physical quantities are calculated making use of the Eliashberg theory and the electron-phonon spectra ²()F() as calculated by Shirai et al. For the superconductor BaPb_0.7Bi_0.3O₃, several models of the ²()F() were studied looking for a better agreement with experimental data. The best fit is achieved with a simple constant scaling (C = 1.25) of the Shirai's spectra. The functional derivative of the deviation function D(t) with respect to changes in ²()F() is also calculated.     

Universal simulation of degenerating homogeneous turbulence

The problem of universal simulation of the dynamics of a turbulent velocity field (universal in the sense of arbitrary values of the Reynolds turbulence number) is treated on the basis of the moment model in the second approximation.Notation ¯q² _i ² double the kinetic turbulence energy - _u ² =5v¯q²/_u Taylor turbulence scale squared - _u=v1/x_k)²> kinetic-energy dissipation function - N_Re,=¯q²_u / Reynolds turbulence number Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 46–52, January, 1982.     

o′-β′ sialon ceramics

Powders of Si₃N₄, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ were mixed with Y₂O₃ as sintering aid and hot-pressed to form o- sialon. During sintering, the o phase preferentially precipitated in the temperature region of 1550 to 1600 °C, and the phase precipitated at temperatures of 1700 °C and above. The resultant microstructure consisted of dual phases of o and . The mechanical properties of o- sialon were improved with increasing amount of the phase. When SiO₂ required for the formation of the o phase was all included in the grain boundary phase, o- sialon exhibited a three-point bending strength as much as 1400 MPa. The oxidation resistance of o- sialon is expected to improve due to the presence of the o phase, but actually was not so good due to the presence of the grain-boundary glassy phase and impurities.     

Transient heat conduction in hollow spheres with a moving inner boundary

The finite integral transform method is used to obtain the solution of unsteady heat conduction problems for a hollow sphere with a moving internal boundary and various boundary conditions at the outer surface. For the solution of the problems of interest integral transform formulas are presented with kernels (16), (20), and (24) and the corresponding inversion formulas (18), (22), (26), (29) and characteristic equations (17), (21), (25), (28), (31), (33).Nomenclature a, thermal diffusivity and conductivity - t temperature of phase transformation - density - heat transfer coefficient - Q total quantity of heat passing through inner boundary - F latent heat of phase transformation - Fo(1,)=a/R ₁ ² , Fo(i,)=/r _i ² , Fo(i, _i)=a _i/r _i ² Fourier numbers - Bi₂=R₂/ Biot number     

Temperature-dependent collective pinning exponent in Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+x tapes and bulk samples with preferential crystallite orientation

The low-voltage-level current-voltage characteristics of Bi₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_10+x tapes and bulk samples with preferential crystallite orientation were measured in applied magnetic fields both parallel and perpendicular to the samples' surfaces. The data were interpreted within the framework of the collective pinning model. The collective pinning exponent changes from 1 to 0.5 (close toT _c), while in the case of unoriented samples it is constant (and equal to the theoretical value 1/2) as shown in an earlier paper. We suggest that this temperature dependence of is due to the change of the dimensionality of the intragranular vortices.     

Probing High-Temperature Superconductivity with Positive Muons

Muon-spin rotation (SR) is a unique tool to investigate internal magnetic fields in superconductors on a microscopic scale. In particular, the complex vortex structure in high-temperature superconductors can be explored with this technique. As an example, SR experiments on the vortex phase diagram of single-crystal Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈₊ are briefly described. A novel SR technique using low-energy muons allows the measurement of internal magnetic fields near the surface of a superconductor with a few nanometers' resolution. First results obtained with this technique on a thin YBa₂Cu₃O_7- film are presented.     

Effects of Orthorhombic Distortion on Magnetic Excitation in t-J Model

Neutron scattering experiments on La_2–x Sr _x CuO₄ (LSCO) have revealed the incommensurate antiferromagnetic peaks do not lie exactly on the symmetry axes (q _x=± and q _y=±), but, are slightly shifted from them. In this paper, a scenario is presented for such shift in terms of the anisotropy of t (next-nearest-neighbor hopping integral on the square lattice) in the slave-boson scheme of the two-dimensional t-J model. Since the predictions of the present theory are different from those based on the spin-charge stripes hypothesis, further studies of the shift may clarify the factor responsible for the incommensurate antifcrromagnetic fluctuations in LSCO systems.     

Spin hydrodynamic equations with external disturbances and suitable Green's functions for superfluid3He-B. New onsager relations

The spin hydrodynamic equations for superfluid³He-B have been obtained for the case of external, time-dependent fields. On the basis of a microscopic approach, expressions are found for additional terms in equations containing these fields. Considering the linear response of the system to the switching on of external fields, formulas are found for suitable Green's functions (magnetization-magnetization, rotation-rotation, magnetization-rotation, rotation-magnetization). The rotation-rotation Green's function has the 1/q ² singularity characteristic of superfluid systems. Connections between Green's functions lead to relations among kinetic coefficients v, ₁, and ₂. It is also shown that there is a conserved quantityQ ^(B) = div v _s ^(B) that describes sources or magnetic type charges (monopoles) of the superfluid velocity v _s ^(B) . Comparison with the phenomenological approach suggests thatQ ^(B) is proportional to a pseudoscalar giving the projection of the spin density onto the vector describing the axis of rotation.