Markus Chmielus

Giant Magnetic-Field-Induced Strains in Polycrystalline Ni–Mn–Ga Foams

The magnetic shape-memory alloy Ni-Mn-Ga shows, in monocrystalline form, a reversible magnetic-field-induced strain (MFIS) up to 10%. This strain, which is produced by twin boundaries moving solely by internal stresses generated by magnetic anisotropy energy, can be used in actuators, sensors and energy-harvesting devices. Compared with monocrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga, fine-grained Ni-Mn-Ga is much easier to process but shows near-zero MFIS because twin boundary motion is inhibited by constraints imposed by grain boundaries. Recently, we showed that partial removal of these constraints, by introducing pores with sizes similar to grains, resulted in MFIS values of 0.12% in polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga foams, close to those of the best commercial magnetostrictive materials. Here, we demonstrate that introducing pores smaller than the grain size further reduces constraints and markedly increases MFIS to 2.0-8.7%. These strains, which remain stable over >200,000 cycles, are much larger than those of any polycrystalline, active material.

Large magnetic-field-induced strains in Ni–Mn–Ga nonmodulated martensite

Large magnetic field-induced strains of up to 0.17% for a stress-free Ni53.1Mn26.6Ga20.3 single crystal with nonmodulated martensite phase were generated in a rotating magnetic field. This magnetic-field-induced strain, which is ten times larger than values reported so far for nonmodulated martensites, evidences significant magnetic-field-induced twin boundary motion, which so far was thought to be impossible. This result reinforces the interest in nonmodulated martensites, which are formed as a ground state in the Heusler-type ferromagnetic shape memory alloys.

Magnetic-field-induced recovery strain in polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga foam

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 ...

Brief data overview of differently heat treated binder jet printed samples made from argon atomized alloy 625 powder.

Powder bed binder jet printing (BJP) is an additive manufacturing method in which powder is deposited layer-by-layer and selectively joined in each layer with binder. The data presented here relates to the characterization of the as-received feedstock powder, BJP processing parameters, sample preparation and sintering profile (“Effect of solutionizing and aging on the microstructure and mechanical properties of powder bed binder jet printed nickel-based superalloy 625” (A. Mostafaei, Y. Behnamian, Y.L. Krimer, E.L. Stevens, J.L. Luo, M. Chmielus, 2016) [1], “Powder bed binder jet printed alloy 625: densification, microstructure and mechanical properties” (A. Mostafaei, E. Stevens, E. Hughes, S. Biery, C. Hilla, M. Chmielus, 2016) [2]). The data presented here relates to the characterization of the as-received feedstock powder, BJP processing parameters, sample preparation and sintering profile. Effect of post heat treatments including solutionizing and aging on the microstructure and mechanical properties of powder bed binder jet printed nickel-based superalloy 625 were compared to that of sintered samples.

Data on the densification during sintering of binder jet printed samples made from water- and gas-atomized alloy 625 powders

Binder jet printing (BJP) is a metal additive manufacturing method that manufactures parts with complex geometry by depositing powder layer-by-layer, selectively joining particles in each layer with a polymeric binder and finally curing the binder. After the printing process, the parts still in the powder bed must be sintered to achieve full densification (A. Mostafaei, Y. Behnamian, Y.L. Krimer, E.L. Stevens, J.L. Luo, M. Chmielus, 2016; A. Mostafaei, E. Stevens, E. Hughes, S. Biery, C. Hilla, M. Chmielus, 2016; A. Mostafaei, Y. Behnamian, Y.L. Krimer, E.L. Stevens, J.L. Luo, M. Chmielus, 2016) [1–3]. The collected data presents the characterization of the as-received gas- and water-atomized alloy 625 powders, BJP processing parameters and density of the sintered samples. The effect of sintering temperatures on the microstructure and the relative density of binder jet printed parts made from differently atomized nickel-based superalloy 625 powders are briefly compared in this paper. Detailed data can be found in the original published papers by authors in (A. Mostafaei, J. Toman, E.L. Stevens, E.T. Hughes, Y.L. Krimer, M. Chmielus, 2017) [4].

Effects of Surface Pinning, Locking and Adaption of Twins on the Performance of Magnetic Shape-Memory Alloys

We study the effect of surface modifications and constraints on the mechanical properties of Ni-Mn- Ga single crystals, which are imposed by (i) structural modifications near the surface, (ii) mounting to a solid surface, and (iii) guiding the stroke. Spark eroded samples were electropolished and characterized before and after each polishing treatment. Surface damage was then produced with spark erosion and abrasive wearing. Surface damage stabilizes and pins a dense twin-microstructure and prevents twins from coarsening. The density of twins increases with increasing degree of surface deformation. Twinning stress and hardening rate during mechanical loading increase with increasing surface damage and twin density. In contrast, when a damaged surface layer is removed, twinning stresses, hardening rate, and twin density decrease. Constraining the sample by mounting and guiding reduces the magnetic-field-induced strain by locking twins at the constrained surfaces. . For single-domain crystals and for hard magnetic shape-memory alloys, external constraints strongly reduce the magnetic-field-induced strain and the fatigue lifetime is short. In contrast, for selfaccommodated martensite and for soft magnetic shape-memory alloys, the twin-microstructure adapts well to external constraints and the fatigue lifetime is long. The performance of devices with MSMA transducers requires managing stress distributions through design and control of surface properties, microstructure, and constraints.

Recent Developments in Ni-Mn-Ga Foam Research

Grain boundaries hinder twin boundary motion in magnetic shape-memory alloys and suppress magnetic-field-induced deformation in randomly textured polycrystalline material. The quest for high-quality single crystals and the associated costs are a major barrier for the commercialization of magnetic shape-memory alloys. Adding porosity to polycrystalline magnetic-shape memory alloys presents solutions for (i) the elimination of grain boundaries via the separation of neighboring grains by pores, and (ii) the reduction of production cost via replacing the directional solidification crystal growth process by conventional casting. Ni-Mn-Ga foams were produced with varying pore architecture and pore fractions. Thermo-magnetic training procedures were applied to improve magnetic-field-induced strain. The cyclic strain was measured in-situ while the sample was heated and cooled through the martensitic transformation. The magnetic field-induced strain amounts to several percent in the martensite phase, decreases continuously during the transformation upon heating, and vanishes in the austenite phase. Upon cooling, cyclic strain appears below the martensite start temperature and reaches a value larger than the initial strain in the martensite phase, thereby confirming a training effect. For Ni-Mn-Ga single crystals, external constraints imposed by gripping the crystal limit lifetime and/or magnetic-field-induced deformation. These constraints are relaxed for foams.

Microstructural Evaluation of Magnetocaloric Ni-Co-Mn-Sn Produced by Directed Energy Deposition

Magnetocaloric (MC) materials materials that experience temperature changes due to applied magnetic fields have the potential to transform refrigeration and cooling by reducing energy consumption of commercial refrigerators by up to 30% [1]. Some Heusler alloys (ferromagnetic alloys containing no ferromagnetic elements) including Ni-Mn-Sn with Co addition, are important as MC material systems because they do not require rare earth metals. Ni-Co-Mn-Sn experiences a first-order phase transformation from martensite to austenite. When this transformation (which affects magnetic properties) coincides with the Curie temperature, a MC effect is observed [2]. The spatial freedom of additive manufacturing (AM) would provide the ability to print such materials in a variety of geometries to meet a wider variety of device requirements [3]. As a foundation for combining the benefits of this novel materials system and manufacturing process effectively, the microstructure of AM MC materials must be characterized.

Numerical Simulation of Twin-Twin Interaction in Magnetic Shape-Memory Alloys

Twin boundary motion is the mechanism that drives the plastic deformation in magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs), and is largely dependent on the twin microstructure of the MSMA. The twin microstructure is established during the martensitic transformation, and can be influenced through thermo-magneto-mechanical training. For self-accommodated and ineffectively trained martensite, twin thickness and magnetic-field-induced strain (MFIS) are very small. For effectively trained crystals, a single crystallographic domain may comprise the entire sample and MFIS reaches the theoretical limit. In this paper, a numerical simulation is presented describing the twin microstructures and twin boundary motion of self-accommodated martensite using disclinations and disconnections (twinning dislocations). Disclinations are line defects such as dislocations, however with a rotational displacement field. A quadrupole solution was chosen to approximate the defect structure where two quadrupoles represent an elementary twin double layer unit. In the simulation, the twin boundary was inclined to the twinning plane which required the introduction of twinning disconnections, which are line defects with a stress field similar to dislocations. The shear stress - shear strain properties of self-accommodated martensite were analyzed numerically for different initial configurations of the twin boundary (i.e. for different initial positions of the disconnections). The shear stress - shear strain curve was found to be sensitive to the initial configuration of disconnections. If the disconnections are very close to boundaries of hierarchically higher twins – such as is the case for self-accommodated martensite, there is a threshold stress for twin-boundary motion. If the disconnections are spread out along the twin boundary, twinning occurs at much lower stress.