An analysis of radiation effects on NdFeB permanent magnets

Radiation-induced demagnetization of permanent magnets may present a serious problem in a number of applications including robots conducting rescue and sampling missions in radiation-intense environments, NASA applications, and particle accelerators. Therefore, developing a good understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon is crucial. In this study, hysteresis loops pre- and post-irradiation are examined via the Jiles–Atherton (JA) model, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations are conducted to establish length and time scales of the thermal spike process, and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations are performed to better characterize the effects of microstructure damage on the magnetization. It is found that the interaction between the domains of the magnet increases and that the pinning energy is also increased in the irradiated sample. Furthermore, the MD simulation allowed us to determine that the thermal spike process occurs on time scales of tens to hundreds of femtoseconds and on length scales of a few nanometers. Finally, the DFT simulations clearly depicted the effects of lattice structure defects on the magnetization. These observations showed qualitative agreement with previous studies. The results of this study will be used in a future Monte Carlo simulation that will attempt to take all these effects into account to model the process of radiation-induced demagnetization.