Investigation of Degradation Behavior in Bent Bi-2223 Tapes under Pressurized Liquid Nitrogen using a Sample Holder

The degradation behavior of the critical current $(I_c)$ of Bi-2223 superconducting tapes under pressurized liquid nitrogen were investigated using a newly developed p-shaped sample holder which gives a series of bending strains to a sample. Three kinds of commercially available multi-filamentary Bi-2223 superconducting tapes were used. At atmospheric pressure, the Ie degradation behavior depended on the manufacturing process undergone by each tape. The tapes externally reinforced or densified by over pressure showed better bending strain tolerance than the Ag alloy-sheathed Bi-2223 tape. But these tapes showed a significant $I_c$ degradation when pressurized to 1 MPa in liquid nitrogen. For all samples, after depressurization to atmospheric pressure from 1 MPa, the Ie was completely recovered to its initial values at atmospheric pressure. When the samples were subjected to a thermal cycle wherein the tape was warmed up to room temperature after being depressurized from 1 MPa, it was found that the larger degradation of $I_c$ occurred at the regions where significant ballooning occurred, such as $0\%\;and\;0.2\%$. However, an improved ballooning damage tolerance was observed in the highly-densified tape.