Magnetization measurement for a nearly stoichiometric Nb3Al wire

In this paper, we report on the measurement of the temperature dependence on magnetization of a nearly stoichiometric Nb(3)AI wire. The mu(0)M-mu(0) H loop is measured from 4.2 K to 16 K in the field ranged from -12 T to 12 T by VSM. With temperature increase, the magnetization of the wire decreases with applied field. Below 10 K, a peak around mu(0) H = 0 T and a shoulder adjacent to the peak appear on the magnetization curve contributed from the unreacted pure Nb. Pinning scaling behaviour is evaluated by magnetization instead of the critical current I-c. It is found that a simple Kramer scaling law is fitted well as a function of b(0.5)(1 - b)(2) in the range from 4.2 K to T-c. The result implies that the pinning force is unique and the grain boundaries are probably the pinning centers. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.