Martensitic Transformation and Magnetic Properties of Ni-Mn Quinary Heusler Alloy

Abstract

Ni-Mn-based quinary Heusler alloys have seldom been investigated with respect to their martensitic transformation and mechanical properties for near room temperature transformation. In the current work, we identified and investigated martensitic transformation near room temperature, and the martensitic properties of Ni-Mn-Sn-Fe-In-based quinary Heusler alloys. Alloys prepared in an argon-rich vacuum arc melting furnace. During X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, it was identified that the L21 cubic structure austenite phase of the alloy transforms into L10 orthorhombic martensite phase in the case of alloys with greater Fe substitution. The martensitic transformation zone of the alloy is also shifted to the near-room-temperature range of 15–28 °C by changing the stoichiometry of the alloy composition. Magnetic measurements like field heating (FH), field cooling (FC) and zero field cooling (ZFC) indicate the presence of a dual magnetic phase in the alloy, while magnetic susceptibility testing also helped to establish claims regarding the magnetic measurement results.