Tensile and bending mechanical properties of bulk superconductors at room temperature

Tensile and 3-point bending tests of specimens cut from an Y123 and a Gd123 bulk superconductors fabricated by using the modified QMG (Quench and Melt Growth) process were carried out at room temperature. The mechanical properties obtained by two testing method were compared. The average values of the Young's modulus obtained by tensile tests, 122 GPa for Y123 and 109 GPa for Gd123, were lower than those obtained by bending tests, 132 and 117 GPa, respectively. The average values of the tensile strength, 39 MPa for Y123 and 42 MPa for Gd123, were also lower than those of the bending strength, 74 MPa and 71 MPa, respectively. There was no appreciable difference between the Weibull coefficient for the tensile strength and that for the bending strength, 6.9, in Gd123. On the other hand, the coefficient for the bending strength, 17.6, was significantly higher than that for the tensile strength, 6.8, in Y123. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.