Transverse compressive stress effects on the critical current of Bi-2223/Ag tapes reinforced with pure Ag and oxide-dispersion-strengthened Ag

We have measured the effect of transverse compressive stress on the critical current of two similar sets of Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox (Bi-2223) tapes in a direct comparison between tapes reinforced with pure Ag and oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) Ag. The critical-current degradation at a transverse stress of 100 MPa was about 10% for the Bi-2223/pure Ag tapes and only about 3% for the ODS Ag tapes. In one case for each sample type the degradation was significantly greater, and there was an apparent correlation with porosity in the superconductor filaments. The degradation was the same for critical-current criteria from 5 mu V/cm down to 0.1 mu V/cm. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)01514-0].