Characterization and energy-based model of the magnetomechanical behavior of polycrystalline iron-gallium alloys

The actuation and sensing behavior of a typical polycrystalline Fe81.6Ga18.4 alloy sample grown using free stand zone melt (FSZM) manufacturing processes was characterized and its cross-section texture was determined at three transverse stations using electron back-scattering diffraction (EBSD). An attempt was made to model the actuation and sensing behavior of the polycrystalline magnetostrictive sample from its cross-section texture by treating the polycrystal as composed of multiple grains of single crystals, each with a different orientation to the loading axis. The polycrystalline magnetomechanical behavior was modeled as the sum of the volume fraction weighted single-crystal behavior along the [100], [110], [210], [310], [111], [211] and [311] directions, which are modeled using the energy-based approach discussed in Armstrong (1997 J. Appl. Phys. 81 2321) and Atulasimha (2006 PhD Thesis Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland).