Magnetically graded materials fabricated by inhomogeneous heat treatment of deformed stainless steel

Abstract

The present work was undertaken with the objective of developing a magnetically graded material by a reverse martensitic transformation (RMT) technique in a controlled manner. Tensile deformed SUS type 304 stainless steel was annealed within a temperature gradient to introduce the reverse martensitic transformation inhomogeneously. The magnetisation distributions within specimens were evaluated using a vibrating sample magnetometer. It was found that the desired saturation magnetisation gradient was formed in the magnetically graded material fabricated by the RMT technique. Therefore, by controlling the thermal gradient in the furnace very carefully, it is possible to obtain a magnetically graded material with a suitable gradient of magnetisation using the α′ –γ reverse transformation in SUS 304 stainless steel.