In situ SR-CT Experimental Study on the Directional Sintering of High-Temperature Superconductor YBCO Materials in the Microwave Fields

YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) is a kind of high-temperature superconducting material that has important application in information, energy, medical treatment, etc., and the superconducting properties of YBCO are closely related to its internal microstructure. In this study, the microwave heating method was adopted to prepare the YBCO materials. The internal 3D online evolution observation based on the synchrotron radiation computed tomography technology shows that there was directional grain growth phenomenon of YBCO during microwave sintering process. In local regions with special microstructure, these particles grew to the same point. Here, the theoretical models of single and multiple particles in the microwave electromagnetic fields were established. Based on these theoretical models and finite element analysis, it shows that the YBCO particles can modulate the distribution of electromagnetic fields, resulting in the significantly higher electric field intensity at the particle junctions than other regions. Moreover, there were very high electric field intensity and temperature gradients in the directions of particle growth. These factors were crucial in directional sintering. These results will provide theoretical basis and technical guidance for the controllable preparation and performance optimization of the internal microstructure of superconducting materials in the preparation process.