| Shock compaction experiments were performed on soft magnetic phases Fe 4N and Fe16N2, and hard magnetic phases Nd 2Fe14B and Sm2Fe17N3 in order to determine their thermo-mechanical stability during shock loading and explore the possibility of fabricating a textured nanocomposite magnet. Gas gun experiments performed on powders pressed in a three capsule fixture showed phase transformations occurring in Fe4N, Fe16N 2, and Nd2Fe14B, while Sm2Fe17 N3 was observed to be relatively stable. Shock compaction of FCC Fe4N resulted in a partial transformation to HCP Fe3N, consistent with previous reports of the transition occurring at a static pressure of ~3 GPa. Shock compaction of Fe16N 2 produced decomposition products α-Fe, Fe4N, and FeN due to a combination of thermal effects associated with dynamic void collapse and plastic deformation. Decomposition of Nd-Fe-B, producing α-Fe and amorphous Nd-Fe-B, was observed in several shock consolidated samples and is attributed to deformation associated with shock compaction, similar to decomposition reported in ball milled Nd-Fe-B. No decomposition was observed in shock compacted samples of Sm-Fe-N, which is consistent with literature reports showing decomposition occurring only in samples compacted at a pressure above ~15 GPa. Nd-Fe-B and Sm-Fe-N were shown to accommodate deformation primarily by grain size reduction, especially in large grained materials. Hard/Soft composite magnetic materials were formed by mixing single crystal particles of Nd-Fe-B with iron nanoparticles, and the alignment-by-magnetic-field technique was able to introduce significant texture into green compacts of this mixture. While problems with decomposition of the Nd2Fe14B phase prevented fabricating bulk magnets from the aligned green compacts, retention of the nanoscale morphology of the α-Fe particles and the high alignment of the green compacts shows promise for future development of textured nanocomposite magnets through shock compaction. |
