High strain in polycrystalline Ni48.8Mn31.4Ga19.8 Heusler alloys under overlapped static and oscillating magnetic fields

Martensitic polycrystalline Ni48.8Mn31.4Ga19.8 Heusler alloys, with a stacking period of 14 atomic planes at room temperature, were innovatively processed by combining high-energy ball milling and powder metallurgy. Bulk samples were mechanically coupled to a piezoelectric material in a parallel configuration, and the mechanical deformation of the studied system due to the twin's variant motion was investigated under overlapped static and oscillating magnetic fields. A reversible and high mechanical deformation is observed when the frequency of the oscillating magnetic field is tuned with the natural vibration frequency of this system. In this condition, a linear deformation as a function of the static magnetic field amplitude occurs in the +/- 4 kOe range, and a mechanical deformation of 2% at 10 kOe is observed. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.