Superconducting properties of Ti-Nb-Hf alloys

To achieve improvements in superconducting properties of the Ti-Nb superconductor, effects of ternary additions of Hf have been extensively studied on 42 Ti-Nb-Hf alloys with compositions of 25 - 65at%Nb, 0- 15at%Hf and the balance Ti. Critical temperatures are found to depend upon Hf addition and aging temperature. In as-rolled Ti-40at%Nb-3at%Hf alloy the critical temperature is raised by about 0.3K over Ti- 40at%Nb alloy. Aging at 800°C can raise critical temperatures of high Hf alloys by 0.6 - 1.8K. The upper critical field at 4.2K of as-rolled Ti-40at%Nb-3at%Hf reaches 11.7 tesla, a value higher by 0.4 tesla than that of Ti-40at%Nb. High field critical current densities are also improved by the 3at%Hf addition. 2 step aging treatment is found effective in enhancing critical current densities of high Hf alloys. No degradation in fabricability is caused by a few at% Hf additions.