Abstract
Alloys of Mn55Al45C2 with additions of VC nano-particles have been synthesized and their properties evaluated. The Mn55Al45C2(VC)x (x = 0.25, 0.5 and 1) alloys have been prepared by induction melting resulting in a high content of the ferromagnetic τ-phase (> 94 wt.%). Powder X-ray diffraction indicates that nano-VC can be dissolved in the alloy matrix up to 1 at.%. On the other side, metallography investigations by scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscope show inclusions of the nanosized additives in the microstructure. The effect of nano-VC on the grain and twin boundaries has been studied by electron backscattering diffraction. The magnetization has been measured by magnetometry up to 9 T while the domain structure has been studied using both magnetic force microscopy as well as Kerr-microscopy. For nano-VC contents above 0.25 at.%, a clear increase of the coercive force is observed, from 57 to 71 kA/m. The optimum appears to be for 0.5 at.% nano-VC which shows a 25% increase in coercive force without losing any saturation magnetization. This independent increase in coercivity is believed to originate from the nano-VC reducing the overall magnetic domain size. Overall, we observe that addition of nano-VC could be an interesting route to increase the coercive force of MnAl, without sacrificing saturation magnetization.
Highlights
The mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion or vice versa is a key technology for the renewable energy and electro-mobility markets
It should be taken into account that all samples in this work were synthesized by direct induction melting and all further investigations were done on the as-prepared samples
The optimum appears to be for 0.5 at.% nano-VC which shows a 25% increase in coercive force without losing any saturation magnetization
Summary
The mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion or vice versa is a key technology for the renewable energy and electro-mobility markets. Hysteresis measurements were performed up to 7200 kA/m (9 T) on samples of Mn55Al45C2, Mn55Al45C2(VC)0.25, Mn55Al45C2(VC)0.5 and M n55Al45C2(VC)[1] to investigate the magnetic properties. We performed magnetic force microscopy (MFM) studies on the as-cast samples for Mn55Al45C2, Mn55Al45C2(VC)0.5 and Mn55Al45C2(VC)[1] to investigate the influence of added precipitates on the magnetic microstructure.
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