Editors: | F. Kongoli, F. Marquis, N. Chikhradze, T. Prikhna, O. Adiguzel, E. Aifantis, R. Das, P. Trovalusci |
Publisher: | Flogen Star OUTREACH |
Publication Year: | 2023 |
Pages: | 288 pages |
ISBN: | 978-1-998384-00-6 (CD) |
ISSN: | 2291-1227 (Metals and Materials Processing in a Clean Environment Series) |
The increasing demand for the application of hydrogen in different domains of the Global Industry should bring these technologies to the next level of development and contribute with important solutions to significant logistic and energy challenges as well, such as the transportation of gas or liquid hydrogen (LH2). The boiling temperature of LH2 is 20 K, what makes promising application of high temperature superconductors. It has been proposed [1] to construct a centrifugal type LH2-pump (with superconducting bearings, immersed in liquid hydrogen, with an impeller diameter of 32 mm and rotating speed 15 000 rpm.) to fill a 100 l mobile Dewar in about 5 mins. Because of this it is of great importance to understand which comparatively well developed superconducting material can be more stable and efficient in such working conditions.
We analyzed the functional superconducting characteristics of MgB2-based bulks without and with additions of Ti, Ti-O and TiC, prepared by hot pressing (30 MPa), spark plasma sintering (50-96 MPa) and under high quasy-hydrostatic pressure (2 GPa) conditions. Their stability in gas hydrogen under 4.2 bar pressure was under the study. The trapped magnetic fields were studied using hollow cylinders of the same geometry prepared from magnesium diboride-based materials and MT-YBCO. The high critical current densities and critical magnetic fields should ensure high trapped fields in all these materials. Indeed all materials demonstrated the required performance; however, flux jumps are a serious issue in MgB2 even in crack free cylinders and impeded higher trapped fields. An inhomogeneous and porous MgB2 structure was found to be less stable against flux jumps. On the other hand, deviations of the material matrices from MgB2 stoichiometry did not impede high Jc and trapped fields. The superconducting properties of all materials investigated in this study occurred to be sufficient for magnets in submersible liquid hydrogen pumps with a required trapped field of about 500-600 mT.