A phase-field model of phase transitions and domain structures of NiCoMnIn metamagnetic alloys

We developed a computational model to investigate the magnetic and structural phase transitions in metamagnetic shape memory alloys. The model combined the phase-field method with micromagnetic simulations. The model was used to calculate the transition temperature from ferromagnetic austenite to antiferromagnetic martensite, the Curie temperature, and their response to an external magnetic field, for the typical metamagnetic alloy NiCoMnIn The calculated magnetization curves at different temperatures are consistent with reported experimental measurements. The simulations show that the walls of martensite twins are superimposed with the 90 degrees magnetic domain walls of the low-temperature martensite phase, because of magnetostructural order parameter coupling. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.