Effect of silver addition on the field trapping properties of Gd-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors

The effect of Ag addition on the field trapping properties of Gd-Ba-Cu-O bulk samples has been studied. Gd-BaCu-O bulk superconductors 32 turn in diameter were melt textured by varying the amount of AG(2)O the range of 0-30 wt.%. The trapped magnetic field of Ag-free bulk sample was 1.3 T at 77 K. This value could be improved to 1.8-2.0 T with Ag addition of 10-20 wt.%. A further increase in AG(2)O content degraded the field trapping ability. Ag-free bulk Gd-Ba-Cu-O exhibited the trapped field of 3.0 T at 65 K, however, the bulk was fractured at lower temperature. On the other hand, Ag-added bulk Gd-Ba-Cu-O exhibited the high trapped field value of 6.7 T at 55 K. These results indicate that the mechanical strength of the bulk Gd-Ba-Cu-O could be improved with Ag addition. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.