COMPOSITION TRIANGLE DIAGRAMS OF Ni-Mn-Ga MAGNETIC SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS

A statistical work has been done to collect the composition ranges of Ni-Mn-Ga alloys exhibiting different structures and martensite start temperature (Ms), large magnetostrain or the co-existence of magnetic and structural transitions. The alloys with five-layered (5M), seven-layered (7M) modulated and non-modulated (T) martensitic structures were mapped in the graph. An empirical formula has been presented to reflect the effect of elements nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and gallium (Ga), on the martensite start temperature (Ms). The martensitic structure is sensitive to the composition and the martensitic transformation temperature is most drastically affected by the Ni content. The alloys with large magnetostrain or co-existence effect of the magnetic and structural transitions were also listed in a limited area.