2002

We studied the voltage and temperature dependency of the dynamic conductance of normal metal–MgB2 junctions obtained either with the point-contact technique (with Au and Pt tips) or by making Ag-paint spots on the surface of MgB2 samples. The fit of the conductance curves with the generalized BTK model gives evidence of pure s-wave gap symmetry. The temperature dependency of the gap, measured in Ag-paint junctions (dirty limit), follows the standard BCS curve with 2Δ/kBTc=3.3.

The oxidation behaviour of a multilayer SiC ceramic was investigated at high temperatures. The ceramic samples were processed by tape casting of a slurry containing α-SiC powders, forming of green tubular components and sintering without pressure. The oxidation resistance of this ceramic material was investigated by temperature programmed oxidation (TPO): the gaseous oxidation products were analysed by mass spectrometry. Thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA) were also performed.

The reactive penetration of Al based alloys in massive silica glass and sintered preforms (made of silica, silica plus silicon carbide or silica plus aluminium nitride) was investigated. The reactions occurring during preform sintering and reactive metal penetration were preliminarily studied by Differential Thermal Analysis. Square bars of co-continuous composites were then processed by using this reactive metal penetration (RMP) method.