The influence of the addition of depleted uranium on particle pushing in melt-processed, bulk Y–Ba–Cu–O

Abstract

The microstructure of single-grain, melt-processed (MP) YBa2Cu3O7/Y2BaCuO5 (Y-123/Y-211) samples (YBCO) containing varying amounts of depleted uranium (DU) and Pt has been studied. Only partial refinement of the Y-211 particle size was observed in Pt-free samples, which generally contained both small and large Y-211 particles. Small Y-211 particles in these samples are pushed extensively in the c-growth sector (c-GS) and all Y-211 particles (small and large) coarsen with the distance from the seed and with increasing DU concentration. Samples fabricated with Pt contained only very fine Y-211 particles, which were generally pushed strongly in the c-GS. In this case the size of the Y-211 particles did not vary significantly with distance from the seed. U- and U/Pt-containing sub-micron sized particles present in the melt-processed YBCO microstructure were not pushed during solidification, although their arrangement within the structure of the sample was influenced clearly by the growth process. The so-called cyclic growth was observed in the c-GS at the highest DU concentration (0.8 wt%). In these samples, this growth pattern is associated with the formation of a liquid phase rich in U and Y at the growth front. The cyclic growth mechanism was modified by the addition of Pt. Crystals of Y2Ba4UCuOx with Ba3YUOx phase inclusions were observed to be present in the U/Y-rich melt.