Abstract
The effect of Y 1 /Nd 1 (211) additions on the microstructure and superconducting properties of the Y o . 5 /Nd o . 5 (123) system was investigated using a melt-processing technique in sir. The microstructure investigation revealed a significant preference for Nd to dominate the Re site of the 123 phase with a similar trend for Y to dominate the Re site of the 211 inclusions. Transition temperatures (T c ) exceeding 90K and magnetically induce critical current densities (J c t10000A/cm 2 at zero fields were obtained for many samples. All samples exhibited a peak effect (PE) that appeared to flatten or even vanish at temperatures =< 77K. For the 211 particles refinement reached in this study, no significant effect of these particles was noticed on the flux-pinning properties of the Y/Nd(123) system. Extensive analysis of pinning for both a Y/Nd (123) single crystal and melt-textured samples is being reported elsewhere [1,2]