Quench-age method for the fabrication of niobium--aluminum superconductors

A flexible Nb3Al superconducting wire is fabricated from a niobium-aluminum composite wire by heating to form a solid solution which is retained at room temperature as a metastable solid solution by quenching. The metastable solid solution is then transformed to the stable superconducting A-15 phase by low temperature aging. The transformation induced by aging can be controlled to yield either a multifilamentary or a solid A-15 core surrounded by ductile niobium