Analysis of mesoscopic stress states with delamination and their relation to critical current under bending deformation in Bi2223/Ag superconducting composite tapes

The mesoscopic stress and strain states of Bi2223/Ag/Ag-alloy superconducting composite tapes have been studied both analytically and experimentally under bending deformation. The tapes used in the present study were supplied as the standard samples for the VAMAS round-robin program (classified as VAM1 and VAM3). Detailed tape bending analysis was completed based on a damage-free initial state, and the calculated decrease of critical current, I-c, due to Bi2223 filament fracture was compared to the experimental I-c decrease. The calculated I-c was much lower than that obtained in the experiments for both tapes. Metallography indicated the presence of delamination in as-received as well as bend-tested tapes. The analysis was therefore modified to include delamination and it was completed for the case where delamination occupied the full width of the tape mid-plane. The calculated I-c with delamination was higher than the experimental results for both tapes. Delamination occupying partial width of the mid-plane explained this difference. Finally, the width ratio where delamination exists was calculated by comparing the analytical results with delamination and experimental results. This ratio increased with increasing curvature of the tape.