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We present the design, simulation, and characterization of a magnetic shape-memory alloy (MSMA) film actuator that transitions from bistable switching to resonant self-actuation when subjected to a stationary heat source. The actuator design comprises two Ni-Mn-Ga films of 10 µm thickness integrated at the front on either side of an elastic cantilever that moves freely between two heatable miniature permanent magnets and, thus, forms a bistable microswitch. Switching between the two states is induced by selectively heating the MSMA films above their Curie temperature Tc. When continuously heating the permanent magnets above Tc, the MSMA film actuator exhibits an oscillatory motion in between the magnets with large oscillation stroke in the frequency range of 50–60 Hz due to resonant self-actuation. A lumped-element model (LEM) is introduced to describe the coupled thermo-magnetic and magneto-mechanical performance of the actuator. We demonstrate that this performance can be used for the thermomagnetic energy generation of low-grade waste heat (T < 150 °C) with a high power output per footprint in the order of 2.3 µW/cm2.

Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Aalto University seed funding for the DEMINFUN-project ( 974110 ). Frans Nilsén also acknowledges (in part) support by Operational Program Research, Development and Education financed by European Structural and Investment Funds and the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (Project No. SOLID21 - CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000760 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is used to produce foam-like Ni-Mn-Ga with tailored microscale and mesoscale features. Ni50-Mn28.2-Ga21.8 (at%) powder was gas atomised and processed in an L-PBF system with a range of energy density from 26.24 and 44.90 J/mm3. We characterised microscale and mesoscale properties, such as the chemical composition, crystal structure, magnetisation measurements, density, and porosity measurements as a function of process parameters, in a systematic design of experiment. Preliminary research on macroscale properties included tensile testing and magnetic field induced strain (MFIS) measurements. Results show how controlling process parameters allows tailoring the Ni-Mn-Ga polycrystalline microstructure. Hence, obtaining twinned martensitic structures with a predominant orientation going across the visible grain boundaries. All the processed samples showed a 56 Am2/kg magnetisation level, close to Ni-Mn-Ga 10 M single crystals. Mesoscale results show a distinctive porosity pattern that is tailored by the process parameters and the laser scanning strategy. In contrast, macroscale mechanical tensile test results show a brittle fracture of Ni-Mn-Ga due to the high porosity with yield stress 2–3 times higher than shown in single crystals. In sum, we built geometrically complex demonstrators with (i) microscale twinned martensitic structures with a predominant orientation going across the visible grain boundaries and (ii) mesoscale tailored periodic porosity patterns created by modifying power, scanning speed, and scanning strategy systematically. L-PBF demonstrates great potential to produce foam-like polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga, reducing grain boundary constraints and thus the magnetic force needed for MFIS.

Ni-Mn-Ga is interesting as a prototype of a magnetic shape-memory alloy showing large magnetic-field-induced strains. We present here results for the magnetic ordering of Mn-rich Ni-Mn-Ga alloys based on both experiments and theory. Experimental trends for the composition dependence of the magnetization are measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer in magnetic fields of up to several tesla and at low temperatures. The saturation magnetization has a maximum near the stoichiometric composition and it decreases with increasing Mn content. This unexpected behavior is interpreted via first-principles calculations within the density-functional theory. We show that extra Mn atoms are antiferromagnetically aligned to the other moments, which explains the dependence of the magnetization on composition. In addition, the effect of Mn doping on the stabilization of the structural phases and on the magnetic anisotropy energy is demonstrated.