Angular dependence of coercivity in isotropically aligned Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets

In order to understand the coercivity mechanism in Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets, the angular dependence of the coercivity of an isotropically aligned Nd15Co1.0B6Febal. sintered magnet was investigated through magnetization measurements using a vibrating sample magnetometer. These results are compared with the angular dependence calculated under the assumption that the magnetization reversal of each grain follows the Kondorskii law or, in other words, the 1/cos theta law for isotropic alignment distributions. The calculated angular dependence of the coercivity agrees very well with the experiment for magnetic fields applied between angles of 0 and 60 degrees, and it is expected that the magnetization reversal occurs in each grain individually followed the 1/cos theta law. In contrast, this agreement between calculation and experiment is not found for anisotropic Nd-Fe-B samples. This implies that the coercivity of the aligned magnets depends upon the de-pinning of the domain walls from pinning sites. When the de-pinning occurs, it is expected that the domain walls are displaced through several grains at once. (C) 2018 Author(s).