Reorientation of Ni–Mn–Ga martensite in rotating magnetic field

Reorientation of martensitic variants in the Ni52.0Mn24.4Ga23.6 single crystalline disk under magnetic field rotating in the disk plane has been studied. The reorientation proved to be possible in the fields exceeding 130 kAm−1 and started when the angle between the magnetic moment of the reorienting martensite variant and the [100] crystallographic direction reached 560. The theoretical analysis of experimental results pointed to the comparatively low value of magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant (50 kJm−3) and the possibility of the reversible reorientation of martensitic variants under the co-operative action of the external magnetic field and internal magnetostatic field of the specimen.