Compressive stress-strain-I/sub c/ properties of Bi-2223 superconducting tapes

Superconducting coil windings are subject to complex strain states due to fabrication and operation, particularly when wound in a complex geometry. Although there has been significant study of the effects of longitudinal tension and bending on Ag/Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O conductors, there has been little attention to the effects of longitudinal compression. Here we report a method to apply pure longitudinal compression on tape conductors without bending or buckling. Measurements on short Bi-2223 samples include stress-strain relationships at room temperature and 77 K, and the effects of compression on I/sub c/.