Advanced tensile testing methods for bulk superconductors at cryogenic temperatures

Tensile tests of bulk high T_c superconductors at room temperature have been generally performed by gluing the bulk specimens to Al-alloy rods. Because of the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal stresses were induced at cryogenic temperatures especially near the interface between the specimen and the rods. In this study, tensile testing methods with minimized effect of the thermal stress were tried by using specimens cut from Dy-Ba-Cu-O superconductors. These were: (1) The rod material of Al-alloy was replaced with Ti-alloy, which has the coefficient close to the bulk. (2) The interlayer made of the identical bulk superconductor was inserted between the specimen and the Ti-alloy rod. The nominal tensile strength at the liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT) of the specimen glued to the Ti-alloy rods was significantly higher than that glued to the Al-alloy rods. The application of the interlayers increased the strength significantly. The FEM analysis showed that the thermal tensile stress component in the direction of loading axis within the specimen at LNT is markedly reduced by the method (1) and substantially eliminated in the method (2).