Posterior magnetic effect on the pure and doped Fe-Ni alloy under neutron irradiation

Polycrystalline specimens of unirradiated and neutron irradiated Fe-Ni alloys have been studied in the temperature range RT - 500 deg C. The study was carried out in pure (50-50) as well as in Si, A1, Cr and Mo doped samples. Initial magnetic permeability was measured in unirradiated (virgin)and in neutron irradiated samples, during isochronal and linear thermal treatments. The main results are: a magnetic After Effect (MAE) is detected in the temperature range 370 deg C - Tc, where Tc is the Curie Temperature. In this range an activation energy of 3.2 ± 0.2 eV was determined for the Cr doped Fe-Ni alloy (impurity content: 0.1%); measurements made in the irradiated samples, during a linear temperature treatment, show the existence of several MAE zones in the temperature range RT - Tc. The isochronal annealing experiments show that these MAE zones are accompanied by a decrease in the room temperature value of the magnetic permeability, for zones between RT and a certain temperature T1. Above this range there is a steep increase in the room temperature permeability. Activation energies were determined for pure and Mo-doped (0.1%) samples for the first MAE zone (50 deg C - 120 deg C). The values obtained 1.25 - 0.08 eV and 1.42 ± 0.09 eV, respectively; the impurity - doped samples show a different behaviour relative to the pure ones: samples with low impurity content (0.1% and 0.5% of Si, Al or Mo) present an enhancement in the amplitude and also an overlapping of the diffusion stages. On the other hand, samples with higher impurity content (2 and 4% of Mo) show a decrease in these amplitudes. (author)