Isothermal martensitic transformation in polycrystalline Ni50Mn29Ga21

The isothermal transformation behaviour of polycrystalline Ni50Mn29Ga21 magnetic shape memory alloy is investigated by measuring the saturation magnetisation as a function of time and temperature. The results are analysed within the framework of the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-formalism. The samples were prepared by directional solidification with a (1 0 0) texture of the high temperature cubic phase parallel to the heat flow. The samples were heat treated for chemical homogenization and stress relaxation in the austenitic state. They show a thermal hysteresis of martensite to austenite and the reverse transformation. The hysteresis becomes smaller with increasing measurement time. Grain boundary nucleation is a time controlling mechanism during the isothermal transformation in a constant magnetic field in these alloys. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.