We have studied the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in the shape-memory Heusler
alloy Ni50Mn35In15 by direct measurements in pulsed magnetic
fields up to 6 and 20 T. The results in 6 T are compared with data obtained
from heat-capacity experiments. We find a saturation of the inverse MCE,
related to the first-order martensitic transition, with a maximum adiabatic
temperature change of ΔTad=−7 K at 250 K and a conventional
field-dependent MCE near the second-order ferromagnetic transition in the
austenitic phase. The pulsed magnetic field data allow for an analysis of the
temperature response of the sample to the magnetic field on a time scale of
∼10 to 100 ms which is on the order of typical operation frequencies (10
to 100 Hz) of magnetocaloric cooling devices. Our results disclose that in
shape-memory alloys the different contributions to the MCE and hysteresis
effects around the martensitic transition have to be carefully considered for
future cooling applications.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure