The performance of magnetic materials is extraordinarily sensitive to manufacturing details that can alter atomic environments and structures across multiple length scales. Control of this aspect is investigated via an integrated experimental-computational approach to understand the roles of applied thermal, magnetic and/or strain fields in the development of magnetofunctional materials. Specifically, we examine the effects of “MultiDriver Processing” – novel applications of passive magnetic field and/or mechanical stress during thermal treatment – as a means to control phase selection and transformations in select magnetofunctional material systems. Results are anticipated to furnish engineering guidance to advance high-efficiency, low-energy manufacturing processes for technologically significant magnetic systems, with applications across automotive, aerospace, clean energy, and biomedical fields.
Relevant Publications:
Zhang, X., et al. Driving rapid atomic order in MnAl via low-magnitude magnetic field annealing (under review)
Zhang, X. (2023). Controlling Microstructure and Magnetic Responses in FeSiB Systems Under Magnetic or Mechanical Inputs (Doctoral Dissertation, Northeastern University).
Rinko, E. A., et al. (2022). Effects of tensile loading during annealing of alnico melt spun ribbons. AIP Advances, 12(3), 035338.
Lewis, L. H., Mcdonald, I. J., Keshavarz, S., & McCallum, R. W. (2022). U.S. Patent No. 11,462,358. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Maât, N., et al. (2020). Creating, probing and confirming tetragonality in bulk FeNi alloys. Acta Materialia, 196, 776-789.