The Effects of Nano-Sized Defects on the Magnetic Properties in Thermal Aged Fe–Cu Alloys

We evaluated the changes in magnetic properties due to cold rolling and thermal aging of a Fe-1%Cu model alloy in this paper. First, the alloy was 10% cold rolled, and isothermally aged at 753 K for 20, 200, and 1800 min. The hysteresis loops, magnetic Barkhausen noise, and Vickers micro hardness were measured, and the results are interpreted using the small angle neutron scattering measurement. The change of magnetic and mechanical properties can be interpreted in terms of the domain wall motion and dislocation dynamics associated with copper rich precipitates. The results were interpreted in terms of aging time dependence of the precipitates evolution, such as the volume fraction and size distribution.