Effect of pulsed magnetic field annealing on the microstructure and texture of grain-oriented silicon steel

The effect of pulsed magnetic primary annealing on the microstructure and texture of two-stage cold-rolled silicon steel is investigated. Specimens are annealed at 700 °C for 1 h under a 1 T pulsed magnetic field along different directions with respect to the sample coordinate system. Crystallographic orientation and grain size are identified by analyzing electron backscattered diffraction pattern. The effects of magnetic field treatment are related to the magnetic field direction. Based on the anisotropy energy of ferromagnetic material during magnetic annealing, a hypothesis is proposed. All of the experimental results in this work support the proposed model.     

Developments in the production of grain-oriented electrical steel

The quality and production technology of grain-oriented electrical steel have been improved over the past 70 years. Firstly, through the improvement of {1 1 0} 〈0 0 1〉 alignment, development of thinner-gauge material, and establishment of magnetic domain refining techniques, magnetic properties of the material have been improved dramatically. Secondly, many mechanisms have been proposed for the reason why Goss texture develops selectively during the final annealing stage. Thirdly, to reduce manufacturing costs, many new techniques have been developed. The most advanced in commercial realization is the application of low-temperature slab-reheating techniques. Despite these achievements, the mechanisms of texture selection are not yet clear in all their details. Further improvement of magnetic properties and the application of compact production process for grain-oriented electrical steels in commercial production are needed to be realized.     

Influence of thermomechanical processing on shear bands formation and magnetic properties of a 3% Si non-oriented electrical steel

The effect of thermomechanical processing on the formation of shear bands and on the magnetic properties of a 3.0 wt% silicon non-oriented steel was investigated by hot rolling samples with different thicknesses at different temperatures, in order to obtain a variation in hot band grain size and cold strain. All the samples were processed in a single-stage cold rolling and finally annealed at 1020 °C. It was found that the increase of the hot band grain size decreases the γ fiber volume fraction and increases the η fiber volume fraction after the final annealing. The increase of the cold strain strongly contributed to this result. A good combination of intense generation of shear bands, and proper crystallographic texture, due to higher nucleation of grains with favorable orientations to magnetization in these bands, can be obtained for the samples hot rolled at 1000 and 1120 °C and submitted to cold strain of 64.3% and 72.2% respectively. However the best combination of B₅₀, W_15/60 and μ_r can be obtained by hot rolling the samples at 1000 °C to the thickness of 1.4 mm, corresponding to 64.3% of cold strain.     

Effects of sulfur content and slab reheating temperature on the magnetic properties of fully processed nonoriented electrical steels

The effects of sulfur content and slab reheating temperature on the magnetic properties of four fully processed nonoriented electrical steels have been investigated. Four slabs of nonoriented electrical steels with sulfur content in the range of 0.0006–0.0126 wt% were reheated to 1100, 1200, and 1300 °C, respectively. Then, they were hot rolled and annealed at 700 °C, cold rolled at the same condition and annealed at 820 °C in the salt bath furnace for 1 min to simulate continuous annealing. The ac core loss, dc hysteresis loss, and ac and dc permeability were measured at 15 kG inductions. It was found that the amount of inclusions in the hot-rolled bands increased with increasing slab reheating temperature and increasing sulfur content in steels. After final annealing, grain sizes of cold-rolled steel sheets decreased with increasing sulfur content and increasing slab reheating temperature. The main preferred orientations in the final annealed steel sheets were (0 1 1) 〈1 0 0〉 and (1 1 1) 〈u v w〉 γ fiber texture. Steel sheets containing 0.0032 and 0.0060 wt% sulfur developed a more stronger (0 1 1)〈1 0 0〉 texture than other steel sheets. However, steel sheets containing 0.0126 wt% sulfur had the weakest (1 1 1)〈u v w〉 texture during slab reheating at temperatures higher than 1200 °C. Both ac core loss and dc hysteresis loss increased with increasing slab reheating temperature and increasing sulfur content in steel sheets. Both ac and dc permeability decreased with increasing slab reheating temperature and increasing sulfur content in steel sheets. If sulfur content decreased from 0.0060 to 0.0032 wt%, there were great improvements in ac core loss, dc hysteresis loss, and ac and dc permeability. However, eddy current loss was almost independent of the sulfur content and slab reheating temperature.     

Microstructure,texture and magnetic properties of strip-cast 1.3% Si non-oriented electrical steels

In this work, the evolution of microstructure, texture and magnetic properties of non-oriented 1.3% silicon steel processed using the twin-roll strip casting was investigated, especially under different solidification structures. A number of microstructures about the as-cast strips show that the initial solidification structure of casting a strip can be controlled by the melt superheats. The microstructures with the average grain size of ∼100–400 μm can be obtained in strips when the melt superheats are from 20 to 60 °C. A nearly random, diffuse, homogeneous texture under a low melt superheat, but comparatively developed {100} oriented grains are formed under a high melt superheat through the cast strip thickness. The relatively low core loss and high magnetic induction can be obtained in the cold rolled and annealed sheets when increasing the initial grain size of cast-strip. The textures in annealed sheets with coarse initial grain size are characterized by the relatively strong Goss component and {001} fiber but weak γ-fiber component, which lead to the high permeability.     

Low silicon non-grain-oriented electrical steel: Linking magnetic properties with metallurgical factors

Commercial supply, from several steel manufacturers, of low-silicon non-grain-oriented electrical steel was monitored over a span of several years. A total of 51 samples were selected—selected from many hundreds on the basis of large differences in magnetic properties, but absence of significant variations in chemistry (other than differences in silicon percentage). The selected samples were analyzed for crystallographic texture and for grain size.     

Texture measurement of grain-oriented electrical steels after secondary recrystallization

The measurement of the final Goss texture sharpness in grain-oriented electrical steels is a challenging task due to the immense grain size ranging from millimeters to centimeters. Although, it is widely claimed in the literature that the orientation deviations from the ideal Goss orientation lie in the range of about 7° for conventional grain-oriented steel and in the range of about 3° for high permeability grades, no precise investigation with an appropriate statistical relevance is known to the authors.     

Effect of oxygen non-stoichiometry on magnetic and electrical transport properties of La0.67Sr0.33MnO3

The effect of oxygen deficiency and oxygen excess on the magnetic and electrical transport properties of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ has been investigated. The thermal and isothermal magnetization measurement results show that the Curie temperature and saturation magnetization of oxygen deficient sample (defined as A) are higher than those oxygen excess sample (defined as B). The electrical resistivity of A is lower than that of B in studied temperature range. The magnetoresistance (MR) of B is larger than that of A in the temperature range from 280 to 360 K, which agrees with the magnetic field needed full spin polarization at room temperature. The colossal MR (CMR) around transition temperature from ferromagnetic metal to paramagnetic insulator (T_MI) for A is larger than that for B, which arises from assistance of stronger lattice deformation for A.     

First stages of surface steel nitriding: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrical measurements

Quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques were employed to study the first stages of ultra-high vacuum plasma nitriding of the 42CrMo4 steel. At constant treatment temperature, maintained for all samples at about 360 °C, we have established the influence of treatment time on the chemical composition, thickness and electrical properties of the nitrided layer.In this purpose it was used a stacking atomic layer model describing the sample surface, which takes into account the attenuation depth of photoelectrons by the atomic monolayers. So, we have found that after 2 h of nitriding in laboratory conditions, 70% of the nitrided layer was composed of iron oxide. Also, I–V measurements indicate an influence of the nitride overlayer with increasing treatment time.     

Effect of deformation and annealing on the microstructure and magnetic properties of grain-oriented electrical steels

The effect of plastic deformation and subsequent annealing on the magnetic properties and microstructure of a grain-oriented (GO) electrical steel has been studied. True strain (ε) from 0.002 to 0.23 was applied by rolling in two directions, rolling (RD) and transverse (TD). The deterioration of power losses varies according to the direction of deformation. Annealing the strained material—at 800 °C/2 h—leads to a recrystallization and restored magnetic properties. The main components of annealed-textures are around 15–35° from those of deformed-textures for both RD and TD. Rolling along {1 1 0} 〈0 0 1〉 direction leads to the development of deformation twins.     

The electrodeposition behaviors and magnetic properties of Ni-Co films

Ni-Co films with different compositions and microstructures were produced on ITO glasses by electrodeposition from sulphate bath at 25 °C. Cyclic voltammograms give a result that the increase in the Co²⁺ concentration displaces Ni-Co alloy oxidation peaks to negative potential with high Co current distributions. It is observed that the content of cobalt in the films increases from 22.42% to 56.09% as the molar ratio of CoSO₄/NiSO₄ varying from 0.015/0.085 to 0.045/0.055 in electrolyte. XRD patterns reveal that the structure of the films strongly depends on the Co content in the deposited films. The saturation magnetization (M_s) moves up from 144.84 kA m⁻¹ to 342.35 kA m⁻¹ and coercivity (H_c) falls from 15.27 kA m⁻¹ to 7.27 kA m⁻¹ with the heat treatment temperature increasing from 25 °C to 450 °C. The saturation magnetization (M_s) and coercivity (H_c) move up from 340.97 kA m⁻¹ and 7.98 kA m⁻¹ to 971.58 kA m⁻¹ and 18.62 kA m⁻¹ with the Co content increasing from 22.42% to 56.09% after annealing at 450.     

Effect of water quenching process on the microstructure and magnetic property of cold rolled dual phase steel

The effects of water quenching process on the microstructure and magnetic property of cold rolled dual phase steel are investigated. Correlations of microstructure, magnetic properties and water quenching parameters are established. The results show that the microstructure of the dual phase steels mainly consists of the ferrite and martensite phase, the martensite volume fraction increases gradually on increasing the holding and quenching temperature. It is found that magnetic properties of dual phase steel are very sensitive to the quenching process. Based on the minor hysteresis loop results, the coercivity and hysteresis loss increase obviously with the increase of quenching temperature, while the remanent induction and the maximum permeability tend to decrease. Furthermore, the magnetic domain structure of the ferrite phase in the presented dual phase steel is observed by magnetic force microscopy. The mechanism of the magnetic property varying with the quenching process is also discussed.     

The quenching effects of hot band annealing on grain-oriented electrical steel

The grain-oriented electrical steels are widely used in transformers, which demand low iron loss and high induction of core materials. In order to obtain good magnetic properties, a series of rolling, annealing and coating processes are carried out. Hot band annealing, which influences the ductility for cold rolling and the development of AlN inhibitors, is one of the most important processes. This study investigated the phases and different kinds of precipitations in microstructures of annealed hot band by means of the optical and electronic microscopies. On the other hand, a Themo-Calc software and the solubility product equations of AlN are used to calculate the phase diagram of Fe-Si-C alloy and the amount of AlN at high temperature. Microstructures including ferrite, cementite, pearlite and martensite were observed. The size and shape of precipitates, i.e. GP Zone, TiN, AlN, MnS, oxide and carbide, were identified. The relationship between the amount of nano-scale AlN and magnetic properties indicated that the suitable cooling method resulted in lower iron loss and higher magnetic induction. The result could help to realize the following microstructure evolution and mechanism of inhibitors in grain-oriented electrical steel.     

Effect of Cd on the structural, magnetic and electrical properties of nanostructured Mn-Zn ferrite

Nanoparticles of Mn_0.5Zn_0.5−xCd_xFe₂O₄ (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) have been synthesized by a chemical co-precipitation method. The lattice constant increases with increasing Cd content. X-ray calculations indicate that there is deviation in the cation distribution in the nanostructured spinel ferrite. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss decrease for the samples with Cd content up to x=0.2. However the dielectric constant rises for x=0.3. This is due to an increase in the hopping process at the octahedral (B sites). The dielectric constant increases with increase in temperature, indicating a thermally activated hopping process. The DC resistivity increases with Cd content up to x=0.2 and decreases for Cd content x=0.3. The maximum magnetization of all the samples decreases with increase in Cd content.     

Use of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique for determination of the composition of final phosphate coatings on grain-oriented electrical steel

Electrical steels are highly specialised, magnetically soft materials, used to form the cores that carry the magnetic flux in electrical machines such as motors, generators and transformers.     

Preparation of non-oriented silicon steel with high magnetic induction using columnar grains

Columnar grains can lead to detrimental surface ridging and an inhomogeneous microstructure, although their {1 0 0}〈0 v w〉 texture is considered desirable due to their good magnetic properties in non-oriented silicon steel. Based on the hereditary tendency of {1 0 0}〈0 v w〉 texture, the effects of lubrication and heating rate on texture and on final magnetic properties were investigated using a cast slab containing 100% columnar grains. Hot rolling with lubrication, normalization at low heating rate, two-stage cold rolling, and final annealing at 1000 °C helped achieve high performance. As a result, a new non-oriented silicon steel with high magnetic induction (B₅₀=1.82 T) and low core loss (P_1.5=2.35 W/kg) was prepared. The possibility of further performance optimization was also discussed.     

Effect of rf plasma nitriding time on electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin films

ZnO thin films were prepared by thermal oxidation of metallic Zn films and nitrided by an inductively coupled rf plasma. The effects of successive plasma processing cyclic times on structural and optical properties as well as electrical resistivity were examined by different characterization techniques. A small amount of nitrogen was detected at the film-substrate interface. The grain size decreased slightly as the treatment time increased. The surface roughness of examined films increased while the thickness decreased with increasing plasma treatment time. The electrical resistivity decreased about four orders of magnitude when the sample nitrided for 15 min. However, the transmittance increased as the plasma treatment time increased. The optical band gap increased from 2.76 to 3.02 eV with increasing plasma treatment time from 0 to 15 min.     

Evaluation of oxide layers formed during the decarburisation of grain-oriented electrical steel using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique

Electrical steels are highly specialised, magnetically soft materials, used to form the cores that carry the magnetic flux in electrical machines such as motors, generators and transformers. During the production of GO electrical steel, the strip passes through a decarburisation furnace, which promotes the formation of a thin surface oxide layer consisting of predominantly fayalite (Fe₂SiO₄) and silica (SiO₂). During a subsequent high temperature anneal, this layer reacts with magnesia (MgO) to form a forsterite ‘glass film’ layer, which applies a tensile stress to the steel. This reduces the magnetic losses of the material on which the final product is routinely graded. Due to the effect that the oxide layer has on the quality of the final material, it would be beneficial to possess a technique that can rapidly assess its composition and/or morphology. This paper details the assessment of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and electrochemical potential (ECP) analysis, and a technique of combining the two. FTIR analysis of the decarburisation oxide layer exhibited evidence of just fayalite, with silica only being observed on the spectra following brief acid etching. To refine the etching process, samples were removed from the acid at various intervals based on the output of the ECP technique. It was established that there was a clear link between the position reached on the ECP profile and absorption bands observed on the corresponding FTIR spectra.     

Texture, microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe-28Cr-15Co-3.5Mo permanent magnet

Crystallographic texture, microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe-28Cr-15Co-3.5Mo alloy were studied as a function of processing parameters. Texture studies revealed that thermo-magnetic aging leads to the development of ideal Goss type, {1 1 0} 〈0 0 1〉 and cube type {0 0 1} 〈0 1 0〉 textures. The orientation densities of these texture components become stronger after the step-aging treatments. Microstructural features show that improvement in magnetic properties were due to aligning and elongation of ferromagnetic Fe, Co-rich (α₁) particles in the preferred 〈1 0 0〉 directions. Magnetic analysis reveals that magnetic properties of the alloys are directionally dependent and influenced by the choice of thermo-magnetic treatment temperature or time. The maximum values of intrinsic coercive force, remanence and energy product, obtained in the textured magnetic alloy were 68.99 kA/m (867 Oe), 1.12 T (11.2 kG) and 43.2 kJ m³ (5.4 MG Oe), respectively.