Effect of resin impregnation on the prevention of crack propagation for bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors

We studied the mechanical properties of bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors by applying cyclic loads using a three-point bending test setup. X-ray tomography was used to monitor the presence of cracks inside the sample. We also evaluated the adhesive forces between the epoxy resins and bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors using the tensile test. X-ray tomographic observations showed that cracking was mainly formed along the cleavage plane, although the stress was applied perpendicular to this plane. We confirmed that a strong adhesive force between the resin and bulk materials was responsible for the improvement of the mechanical properties of bulk materials.