A high-throughput high-sensitivity optical technique for measuring magnetostriction of thin-film composition-spread samples has been developed. It determines the magnetostriction by measuring the induced deflection of micromachined cantilever unimorph samples. Magnetostriction measurements have been performed on as-deposited Fe–Ga and Fe–Ga–Al thin-film composition spreads. The thin-film Fe–Ga spreads display a similar compositional variation of magnetostriction as bulk. A previously undiscovered peak in magnetostriction at low Ga content was also observed and attributed to a maximum in the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Magnetostrictive mapping of the Fe–Ga–Al ternary system reveals the possibility of substituting up to $8\mathrm{at.}\%$ Al in ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{70}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{30}$ without significant degradation of magnetostriction.

The cavitation erosion of ductile cast iron with ferrite-pearlite microstructure was analyzed based on ultrasonic experiments performed according to ASTM G32-2010 and the resistance was compared to the C45 steel with similar hardness. The microstructural observation of the surface for different exposure times to the ultrasonic cavitation reveals the fact that the process initiates at the nodular graphite-ferrite interface and is controlled by micro-galvanic activities and mechanical factors. The cavitation erosion resistance was evaluated based on the evolution of the mean depth erosion and the mean depth erosion rate as a function of the cavitation time. The cavitation erosion rate of the cast iron is up to 1.32 times higher than the one of the C 45 steel with similar hardness. This is explained by the occurrence of stress concentrators due to the expulsion of the graphite from the metallic matrix.