SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED ASPECTS OF FERROMAGNETIC SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS

The underlying mechanisms responsible for the giant magnetic or mechanical field-induced-strains in the Ni- Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys are briefly discussed. The fundamental aspect is illustrated by experimental data related to the lattice instability and composition dependence of magnetization alongside literature results. An implementation of Ni-Mn-Ga single crystal as a strain sensor is described