Microstructural evolution and magnetic properties of binder jet additive manufactured Ni-Mn-Ga magnetic shape memory alloy foam

This study investigated microstructural evolution, phase transformation and magnetic behavior of additively manufactured magnetic shape memory alloy foam. Pre-alloyed angular Ni-Mn-Ga ball-milled powder was binder jet printed and sintered at 1020 °C for 4 h in both vacuum and argon atmospheres. Porosity of the manufactured foams was studied using micro-computed x-ray tomography and it was found that the relative density of the sintered parts was about 50–60%. In the printed sample that was sintered in argon, electron microscopy with elemental analysis showed no compositional gradient. X-ray diffraction indicated that 10M modulated martensite was present in the pre-alloyed powder as well as the sample sintered in argon. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermomagnetic results showed that martensitic transformation of the sample sintered in argon was at 34 °C, while barely detectable in the sample sintered in vacuum. Saturation magnetization of the printed sample sintered in argon atmosphere was around 68.4 Am2/kg. Production of a magnetic shape memory alloy by printing would enable complex-shaped elements for demanding applications, and intentionally including porosity could allow these polycrystals to exhibit the magnetic shape memory effect. Therefore, a facile method for sintering of Ni–Mn–Ga printed parts has been presented for the first time.

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