A direct tensile device to investigate the critical current properties in superconducting tapes

We construct an instrument to study the behavior of the critical current in superconducting tapes as a function of magnetic field and axial tension strain. The apparatus combines a material testing machine made by the non-magnetic stainless steel, which is capable of producing mechanical forces up to 1000 N and magnetic field up to 5 T with a homogeneous range of Φ150 × 110 mm. Moreover, the apparatus allows the automatic measurement of time dependence of voltage (V-t) under different magnetic fields and applied strains, which can be used to investigate the vortex instability and its time effect in the superconducting tapes. As an example, the simultaneous measurements of critical current and voltage relaxation with time at various strains and magnetic fields for the YaBa2Cu3O7-x coated conductors are carried out. Comparisons are made with the earlier reports in literature; the strain and magnetic field dependence of critical current indicate consistent behavior of this instrument.