Influence of arrangement field on magnetostrictive and mechanical properties of magnetostrictive composites

Non-aligned and aligned polymer-bonded Tb_0.3Dy_0.7Fe₂ composites with 20% particle volume fraction were prepared under different arrangement fields (i.e. 0, 10 kA/m, 20 kA/m, 30 kA/m, 60 kA/m and 100 kA/m) during their gel process. Static magnetostriction, dynamic magnetostriction, elastic modulus and compressive strength of all specimens were tested and compared. Experimental results indicate that all the parameters are positively dependent on the arrangement field. The dependence is significant at low field levels, the critical value of which is 30 kA/m for the composites fabricated. No obvious improvement of the properties can be observed for a larger field. Such critical values are defined as the optimal arrangement field to manufacture magnetostrictive composites.