Unusual effects of manual grinding and subsequent annealing process observed in Gd5.09Ge2.03Si1.88 compound

Abstract

The Gd5.09Ge2.03Si1.88 compound, as well as other magnetocaloric materials, certainly will not be used in their un-manufactured as-cast condition in future magnetic refrigeration applications or other devices. In this work, we have studied the Gd5.09Ge2.03Si1.88 compound processed in different ways, mainly, the as-cast powder, the annealed powder, and the pressed and sintered powder. The annealed powder (1370 K/20 h) does not present the monoclinic phase and the first-order magneto-structural transition observed in the as-cast powder. The pressed and sintered powder also do not present the first-order transition. Furthermore, the compacting pressure shifts the second-order magnetic transition to lower temperatures. The behavior of cell parameters as a function of the compacting pressure indicates that T-C is directly affected by parameter c change.