CAREER: Engineering Meta-magnetic Shape Memory Alloys as the Future Generation of High Performance Magnetic Actuators

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The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award is to study the fundamental properties of meta-magnetic shape memory alloys (SMAs) to establish composition, microstructure and property relationship and to engineer the microstructure through thermo-mechanical treatments to result in magnetic actuators with high stress output. Meta-magnetic SMAs are a new class of smart materials where their actuation mechanism is based on field-induced phase transformation which results in one order of magnitude greater actuation strain than magnetostrictive materials and one order of magnitude higher actuation stress than well known NiMnGa magnetic SMAs, comparable to those of conventional SMAs. A deeper understanding of meta-magnetic SMA behavior will be gained by a systematic study of the effects of composition, crystal orientation, magneto-thermo-mechanical treatments and stress state on shape memory and magnetic properties including superelasticity, shape memory effect, transformation temperatures, hysteresis, Curie temperature, and saturation magnetization of transforming phases. If successful, this research will enable the fabrication of a new generation of magnetic actuators at various scales that will provide an alternative to the existing solid-state actuator technology which in turn will benefit the economic development of our society. These actuators are expected to result in high actuation stress (30 MPa/Tesla), high actuation strain (2-4%), and to operate at medium frequencies (10 kHz) under low magnetic fields ( 2 Tesla). An integrated research and educational program will be built on strong foundations by bridging mechanics and materials science communities, through the use of smart materials in particular, to expose undergraduate students to multidisciplinary research early in their academic careers. Educating, empowering and exciting "front-line" middle and high school teachers by involving them in projects on smart materials through collaborations with well-established local outreach programs available at University of Kentucky will attract a large number of under-represented and economically-challenged students to pursue their future careers in engineering.