Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/L48744/01
Title:	BIAXIALLY TEXTURED RARE EARTH BARIUM CUPRATE CONDUCTORS OF ENHANCED CRITICAL CURRENT
Principal Investigator:	Driscoll, Professor JL
Other Investigators:	Caplin, Professor AD
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	EA Technology IBM UK Ltd National Grid University of Birmingham University of Cambridge
Department:	Materials
Organisation:	Imperial College London
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	23 February 1998	Ends:	22 August 2001	Value (£):	175,566
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Processing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Energy
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Although the intrinsic super-conducting properties of the ReBCO phases are superior to those of the BSCCO phases, the latter have been favoured for the fabrication of long wires. This is because in the ReBCO phases, the grain boundaries form weak-links that limit Jc; in BSCCO phases they are much more benign. However, the BSCCO conductors are still not quite good enough for the majority of applications, where 77K operation is preferred.We plan to explore fully an approach to engineering the microstructure of ReBCO phase material, utilising information from detailed thermochemical studies, and so to overcome the grain boundary limitation. The desired microstructure is one in which the grains are highly textured, and will be achieved by melt-texturing on a silver based substrate. We aim to achieve, in short, lengths, a substantial improvement in performance at 77K over BSCCO phase conductors. These samples will be fully characterised both structurally and electrically, utilising specialised techniques developed at ICSTM. Particular emphasis will be given to approaches that can be scaled up (by others) and are also economically viable for eventual commercialisation.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.imperial.ac.uk