TbFe2 giant magnetostrictive alloy prepared by drop-tube system

In this paper, we investigated the possibility of preparation of TbFe2 giant magnetostrictive alloys (GMM) under a microgravity condition by 6 m drop-tube system. TbFe2 droplets diameter which varied from 1.1 to 2.1 mm were obtained. The magnetostriction of 1.1 mm droplet shows the highest value of about 1600 ppm at the applied 15 kOe. The magnetostriction of TbFe2 samples increased with decreasing diameter. It was suggested that magnetostriction of the samples was influenced by cooling rate during free-fall in helium gas cooling atmosphere and oil quenching. We concluded the possibility of the continuously preparation process under microgravity of TbFe2 giant magnetostrictive alloy by drop-tube system.