Magnetostriction and electrical resistivity of Sm_0.88Nd_0.12Fe_1.93 bonded composites

Magnetostrictive composites were prepared by mixing Sm_0.88Nd_0.12Fe_1.93 alloy particles with epoxy resin and curing under an external magnetic field. The microstructure, magnetostriction and electrical resistivity of bonded Sm_0.88Nd_0.12Fe_1.93 composites prepared at different external magnetic fields were investigated. Results show that the maximum magnetostriction λ_//-λ_⊥ at 1.3 T reaches -1088×10^-6 for the bonded composites with 30% (volume fraction) Sm_0.88Nd_0.12Fe_1.93 particles cured under 0.6 T, which is 86.6% of the magnetostriction for the as-cast alloy. Compared with the as-cast Sm_0.88Nd_0.12Fe_1.93 alloy, electrical resistivity of the epoxy-bonded Sm_0.88Nd_0.12Fe_1.93 composites prepared under 0.6 T is 6 orders of magnitude higher. Additionally, electrical resistivity for the composites cured under 0 field is higher than that cured under 0.6 T, which might be related to the alignment of SmNdFe powders.