Microstructure and properties of A15 superconductors formed by direct precipitation

Superconducting materials were made by quenching supersaturated solutions of V-Ga and Nb-Al, deforming the quenched specimens, and then precipitating the A15 phase by aging at intermediate temperature. The critical current characteristics of the product materials depend both on the inherent properties of the A15 phase, which presumably reflect its composition, and on the details of the precipitation process, which determine the grain size, continuity, and volume fraction of the A15. These features of the precipitation process differ qualitatively between V-Ga and Nb-Al. They are described and used to interpret the critical current characteristics.