Specific heat and magnetic entropy associated with magnetic ordering in Al-rich RAL2sintered compounds

Crystallographic and thermo-magnetic measurements have been made on the sintered RAl
2
intermetallic compounds, where R = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho and Er. These Laves phase compounds are important ferromagnetic substances for the Ericsson type magnetic refrigerator in the temperature range above 10 K. The powder metallurgical approach was used to prepare the samples. The sintering characteristics in the R-Al system were clarified in the previous paper. Based on that result, the RAl
2.2
system was selected in this investigation. Thermo-magnetic measurements show that Curie temperatures for the RAl
2.2
sintered compounds are inclined to be about 2 to 15 K lower than those for stoichiometric compounds. In this paper, specific heat and magnetic entropy values for the above Al-rich RAl
2
high density sintered compounds are shown in respect to application to magnetic refrigerants in the above 10 K temperature range. Then, the RAl
3
phase contribution in RAl
2.2
sintered compounds to magnetic entropy and its magnetic properties are discussed.