Effects of Aging on Magnetic and Thermal Characteristics of NiMnCoSn Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys

Heusler shape memory alloys are important for many applications due to their typical magnetic and shape memory behaviors. In this study, a Ni50Mn36Sn12Co2 (at.%) alloy was manufactured by arc-melting technique, then the ingot cooled to ambient temperature in the natural atmosphere. Three different temperatures, including 500 degrees C (773 K), 700 degrees C (973 K), and 900 degrees C (1173 K), was selected for aging the samples cut from the main ingot. The impact of aging on the crystalline; microstructure; caloric; and magnetic properties of the alloys were investigated through x-ray diffraction (XRD); scanning electron microscope; differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), differential thermal analysis, and thermal gravimetric (TG); and physical property measuring system was investigated, respectively. The aging in different temperatures led to the shift DSC curve, such that the martensitic phase transformation temperatures of the sample aged at 773 K increased, however, the transformation at 973 and 1173 K decreased compared to the as-casted alloy. The different phase transformation behavior showed that the alloy aged at 773 K has the maximum elastic energy, enthalpy and entropy change compared to the reset of samples, on the other hand, its crystallite sized obtained from XRD analysis comparably diminished. Besides, the TG analysis revealed that the mass gain almost occurs at a temperature above 773 K, therefore the magnetization of the alloys aged at 973 and 1173 K decreased due to a thin oxide layer formed on the surface of the alloys.