Magnetically resettable 0.16% free strain in polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga plates

We investigated the microstructure, mechanical training and free strain due to magnetically induced reorientation (MIR) of a polycrystalline Ni50Mn29Ga21 alloy prepared by directional solidification, which showed columnar grains with a strong <1 0 0>A fibre texture. Two-side mechanical training greatly decreased the twinning stress level of the properly cut plates. Consequently, a free strain of 0.16% has been observed in the trained plates and this strain is magnetically resettable more than 20 times by rotating the magnetic field by 90°.