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Recently, we have shown that a polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga magnetic shape-memory alloy, when containing two populations of pore sizes, shows very high magnetic-field-induced strain of up to 8.7%. Here, this double-porosity sample is imaged by x-ray microtomography, showing a homogenous distribution of both pore populations. The orientation of six large grains-four with 10M and two with 14M structure-is identified with neutron diffraction. In situ magnetomechanical experiments with a rotating magnetic field demonstrate that strain incompatibilities between misoriented grains are effectively screened by the pores which also stop the propagation of microcracks. During uniaxial compression performed with an orthogonal magnetic bias field, a strain as high as 1% is recovered on unloading by twinning, which is much larger than the elastic value of <0.1% measured without field. At the same time, repeated loading and unloading results in a reduction in the yield stress, which is a training effect similar to that in single crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetomechanical properties of ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Ni–Mn–Ga single crystals depend strongly on the twin microstructure, which can be modified through thermomagnetomechanical training. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) were used to characterize the evolution of twin microstructures during thermomechanical training of a Ni–Mn–Ga single crystal. Experiments were performed in the martensite phase at 25 °C and in the austenite phase at 55 °C. Two distinct twinning surface reliefs were observed at room temperature. At elevated temperature (55 °C), the surface relief of one twinning mode disappeared while the other relief remained unchanged. When cooled back to 25 °C, the twin surface relief recovered. The relief persisting at elevated temperature specifies the positions of twin boundaries that were present when the sample was polished prior to surface characterization. AFM and MFM following thermomechanical treatment provide a nondestructive method to identify the crystallographic orientation of each twin and of each twin boundary plane. Temperature dependent AFM and MFM experiments reveal the twinning history thereby establishing the technique as a unique predictive tool for revealing the path of the martensitic and reverse transformations of magnetic shape memory alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work deals with the magnetic anisotropy of a textured Ni51.4Mn28.3Ga20.3 thin film sputter deposited on alumina ceramic substrate. This film is a ferromagnetic martensite with a strong uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The magnetization versus magnetic field dependencies at different angles between the direction of magnetic field and the film plane are measured with a vibrating sample magnetometer. The initial magnetic susceptibility decreases with increasing inclination with respect to the film plane. A consistent procedure is introduced for the quantitative determination of (i) the angle of the easy-magnetic axis with respect to the film normal and (ii) the ratio between the magnetic anisotropy energy and the magnetostatic energy (quality factor). These values proved to be equal to 67°±4° and 2.9±0.3, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-Mn-Ga films of different thicknesses were deposited onto Si(100) substrates by magnetron sputtering and annealed at 1073 K for 1 h in high vacuum. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the formation of 220 fiber texture perpendicular to the film plane. Magnetic properties of thin films were investigated at room temperature using ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) technique. The dependencies of both the FMR absorption maximum position and resonance linewidth on the direction of the external magnetic field with respect to the film normal were studied. The data analysis showed that the direction of magnetocrystalline anisotropy easy axis in the films makes 45° angle with the film normal. The modeling allowed evaluation of the uniaxial anisotropy constant, which is found to increase with thickness of Ni-Mn-Ga films. Uniaxial anisotropy constants were found to be ∼2.8×105 erg/cm3 for 0.1 and 0.5 μm film thickness, ∼4.2×105 erg/cm3 for 1 μm film, and ∼5.1×105 erg/cm3 for 3 μm film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]