Aluminum-stabilized multifilamentary superconductor and method of its manufacture

Claim 1

A method for manufacturing an aluminum-stabilized multifilamentary superconductor, which comprises: (a) preparing a cylindrical billet of aluminum alloy having a plurality of holes spaced apart from one another in an essentially circular and symmetric array extending therethrough parallel to the axis of the cylinder; (b) inserting rods of superconductive material into said holes; (c) extruding said billet such that it is elongated in the direction of its axis; (d) enclosing said extruded billet in a tube consisting essentially of aluminum not less than 99.999% pure; (e) further enclosing said enclosed extruded billet in a metallic sheath of a metal substantially harder than the aluminum of the tube; (f) working the assembly thus produced to a desired final cross sectional size not more than half its size prior to said working; and (g) removing the metallic sheath from the outside of the assembly.

Claim 2

A method for manufacturing an aluminum-stabilized multifilamentary superconductor, which comprises: (a) preparing a cylindrical billet of aluminum alloy having a plurality of holes spaced apart from one another in an essentially circular and symmetric array extending therethrough parallel to the axis of the cylinder; (b) inserting rods of superconductive material into said holes; (c) extruding said billet such that it is elongated in the direction of its axis; (d) enclosing said extruded billet in a tube consisting essentially of aluminum not less than 99.999% pure; (e) further enclosing said enclosed extruded billet in a metallic sheath of a metal substantially harder than the aluminum of the tube; (f) working the assembly thus produced to a desired final cross sectional size not more than half its size prior to said working; and (g) removing the metallic sheath from the outside of the assembly.

Claim 13

A method for making a multifilamentary superconductor, stabilized with aluminum not less than 99.999% pure, comprising the steps of: preparing and extruding an aluminum alloy billet having a number of rods of superconductive alloy disposed therein in a symmetric and essentially circular pattern such that the rods are not in contact with one another to an intermediate size; enclosing the extruded billet in a tube of aluminum not less than 99.999% pure, and in a further metallic tube of a metal harder than the aluminum of said tube; working this assembly by wire drawing to a final size such that its diameter is at least halved; removing the further metallic tube; and heat-treating the product at a temperature of between 300° and 400° C. for a time between 24 and 72 hours.

Claim 14

A method for making a multifilamentary superconductor, stabilized with aluminum not less than 99.999% pure, comprising the steps of: preparing and extruding an aluminum alloy billet having a number of rods of superconductive alloy disposed therein in a symmetric and essentially circular pattern such that the rods are not in contact with one another to an intermediate size; enclosing the extruded billet in a tube of aluminum not less than 99.999% pure, and in a further metallic tube of a metal harder than the aluminum of said tube; working this assembly by wire drawing to a final size such that its diameter is at least halved; removing the further metallic tube; and heat-treating the product at a temperature of between 300° and 400° C. for a time between 24 and 72 hours.