Heat transfer and oxygen diffusion in Ag-clad BSCCO superconducting tapes

The quality of Ag-clad BSCCO superconducting tapes is a function of their processing conditions. Two important processing parameters are the cooling rate from the annealing condition, and the oxygen partial pressure in the furnace. Although a link between oxygen content and critical current density has been established, apparently no attempts have been made to predict the temperature and oxygen content distributions within a Ag-clad BSSCO tape. This study presents a combined thermal and mass transfer model which enables the calculation of the oxygen content distribution, and the results indicate a slow cooling rate, and relatively high oxygen partial pressure, leading to a greater and more uniform oxygen concentration within the tape, and thus potentially superior superconducting properties.