Mechanical spectroscopy of phase transitions in Fe–(23–38)Ga-RE alloys

Anelastic effects in Fe-(23–38)Ga binary and ternary alloys doped with rare-earth (RE) elements, RE = Pr, Sm, Tb, Er, and Yb, are studied in a sub-resonance frequency through heating and cooling in the range from 0 to 600 °C. In situ neutron diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are used to trace phase transitions during heating and cooling and to interpret anelastic effects due to phase transitions. Besides the thermally activated effects, two transient effects due to the first-order transitions D03 → L12 and B2/D03 → Fe13Ga9 (later in alloys with Ga content>29 at%) are studied. In most cases, the RE elements decrease the rate of phase transitions. The obtained results demonstrate an excellent correlation between temperature-dependent internal friction, in situ neutron diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometry tests.