Experimental study of the multiaxial ferroelastic behavior of Tb _0.3Dy_0.7Fe_1.95 alloys

A magnetic field was applied to a [110] oriented polycrystalline rod of the alloy Tb_0.3Dy_0.7Fe_1.95 at a range of angles to the compressive stress along the rod axis. The nonlinear hysteretic responses were measured simultaneously; they were different from those in an axial magnetic field. First, the axial saturation magnetization and magnetostriction both decreased with the increase of due to the domain rotation away from the axial direction. Second, the saturation magnetization decreased at a nonzero angle when the pre-stress increased. However, they reached almost the same saturation value when = 0°. Third, the magnetostriction increased to a maximum and then decreased as the applied magnetic field further increased. An attempt has been made to explain the ferroelastic behavior by taking into account the competition of magnetic field and compressive stress on the domain rotation.