Rapid solidified ductile Cu-Al-Mn ribbon and its elastocaloric potential

Abstract

Cu-Al-Mn alloys display martensitic transformation over a wide range of temperatures. In addition to low cost, this alloy is known for its low transformation stress with reasonable latent heat favoring elastocaloric applications. However, the ductility of Cu-Al-Mn can be limited owing to ordering and intergranular fracture. Through rapid solidification by melt spinning, we show that Cu-Al-Mn ribbon can be made highly ductile (greater than 8% tensile strain in the as-spun state and 10% tensile strain after heat treatment). The ductility of the melt-spun ribbon is related to the suppression of L21 ordering that is characterized through magnetic property measurement. Heat treatment of the ribbon promotes bamboo grain formation, and the latent heat is increased to 6.4 J g−1. Under tensile conditions, we show that the ribbon exhibited about 4 °C temperature change (4.4 °C on heating and 4.2 °C on cooling from 6.3% strain).