MAGNETOMECHANICAL DAMPING IN GIANT MAGNETOSTRICTION ALLOYS

Magnetomechanical damping in the giant magnetostriction material Terfenol-D has been investigated by quasi-static stress-strain measurements and modeled theoretically. The damping capacity is a strong function of applied stress amplitude, increasing to a maximum at some finite stress and then decreasing slowly at still larger applied stresses. Maximum damping capacities greater than 1.0 were observed for the lowest magnetic bias fields and prestresses at applied stress amplitudes of 4 MPa. Both the qualitative behavior of the damping and its magnitude are successfully described by a model of abrupt magnetization jumps within individual domains driven by the applied stress.