OPTIMIZATION OF THE MAGNETOCALORIC EFFECT IN Ni-Mn-In ALLOYS: A THEORETICAL STUDY
Sokolovskiy V.V., Buchelnikov V.D., Entel P.

Received: February 6, 2012

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Based on ab initio and Monte Carlo simulations, we study the influence of the strength of the magnetic exchange parameters on the inverse and conventional magnetocaloric effect in the Ni₅₀ Mn₃₄ In₁₆ Heusler alloy using the mixed Potts and Blume-Emery-Griffiths model Hamiltonian. Within the proposed model, the temperature dependences of the magnetization, tetragonal deformation, and adiabatic temperature changes for magnetic field variation are obtained. It is first shown that a decrease in the magnetic exchange interactions leads to increased values of the magnetocaloric effect. We suppose that a reduction of the exchange interactions in the Ni-Mn-In alloy can be realized by the doping with nonmagnetic atoms such as B, Si, Zn, Cu, etc.