Effect of nitriding on grain oriented silicon steel bearing aluminum (the second study)

All kinds of high-permeability GO are manufactured using AlN as the main inhibitor. From a purely metallurgical viewpoint, three types of inhibitor preparation for high-permeability GO have been shown. They include a complete solution without nitriding, a complete precipitation with nitriding and a partial precipitation with nitriding. In this study, another possibility, i.e., a complete solution method with nitriding, was investigated to avoid the extra high-temperature slab reheating and to examine the effect of nitriding on GO bearing Al. This method can also provide the sharp Goss texture, and nitriding is shown to be very useful for changing the inhibitor intensity, depending on the primary grain size.     

Strain-induced grain growth in non-oriented electrical steels

The present work considers a method of columnar microstructure development in vacuum-degassed non-oriented electrical steels. Samples after temper rolling were annealed under special heat treatment conditions. The influence of the applied thermo-mechanical treatments on microstructure progress in the investigated non-oriented steels is studied. Columnar microstructure is obtained after combining the temper rolling and appropriate annealing conditions. The dependence of texture on the applied conditions was studied by EBSD facilities in the investigated material. It was confirmed that the obtained columnar microstructure possesses pronounced cube texture components.     

Effect of initial grain size on texture evolution and magnetic properties in nonoriented electrical steels

The magnetic properties of nonoriented electrical steels are influenced by the grain size and crystallographic texture. The technologies used to control the grain size in nonoriented electrical steels are approaching their limits. However, there is still some room for improvement of the magnetic properties through texture control. Hot-band annealing is known to be one of the most effective processing stages for texture modification. In this study, two types of initial grain sizes prior to cold rolling are obtained by different hot-band annealing. The effect of initial grain size on texture evolution and magnetic properties in nonoriented electrical steels containing 2% Si is examined. The specimens having different initial grain sizes have significantly different textures in the cold-rolled state and the annealed state. During the recrystallization stage, new grains formed in the coarse-grained specimens have stronger Goss but weaker γ-fibre texture than those in the fine-grained specimens. During the grain growth after complete recrystallization, the coarse-grained specimens still have weaker γ-fibre texture than the fine-grained specimens. The magnetic induction of the coarse-grained specimens is always higher at the same temperature than that of the fine-grained specimens. The core loss of the coarse-grained specimens is lower at the same temperature than that of fine-grained specimens. However, the improvement of the core loss becomes less pronounced as the annealing temperature increases.     

Development of a new generation of high permeability non-oriented silicon steels

The paper describes a new generation of the high permeability fully processed silicon steel grades developed by Acesita, with core loss (W_1.5/60) in range of 3.10–4.20 W/kg and polarisation (J₅₀) from 1.71 to 1.75 T, respectively. The new grades have lower (Si+Al) content and a better crystallographic texture, with lower fractions of [1 1 1]||ND fibre and higher fractions of [0 0 1]||RD fibre. The new grades have better mechanical and magnetic properties than conventional grades.     

Precipitates in electrical steels

Precipitates heavily influence the magnetic properties of electrical steels, either as a key controlled requirement as part of the manufacturing process or as an unwanted harmful residual in the final product. In this current work copper-manganese sulphides precipitates are the primary inhibitor species in the conventional grain-oriented (CGO) steels examined and grain boundary pinning is effective at a mean precipitate size of 30–70 nm. The growth of CuMnS has been studied and the results show that a precipitate size above ∼100 nm allows the onset of secondary recrystallisation in the heating conditions applied.     

Curie temperatures and crystallization behavior of amorphous Fe81−xNixZr7B12 (x=10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60) alloys

Curie temperature, crystal structure and crystallization behavior of amorphous alloys with the stoichiometry Fe_81−xNi_xZr₇B₁₂ (x=10–60) have been studied by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and AC-magnetization (TMAG) measurements as functions of temperature. The thermal stability of long-range magnetic order, T_C vs. Ni content in as-quenched amorphous alloys exhibits maximum at 352 °C for x=40. The primary crystallization has been detected during annealing at the first crystallization stage of all ribbons investigated.     

Effect of stress relief annealing temperature and atmosphere on the magnetic properties of silicon steel

Fully processed non-oriented silicon steel samples 0.50 mm thick were sheared and submitted to stress relief annealing under different conditions of temperature and atmosphere to investigate the effect of this treatment on the recovery of magnetic properties. Two different compositions were used, with different Si and Al contents. Temperature was varied in the range of 600–900 °C and four atmospheres were used: N₂ and N₂+10%H₂ combined with dew points of −10 and 15 °C. The results showed that annealing atmosphere has very important effect on the magnetic properties and that the beneficial effect of stress relief annealing can be overcome by the detrimental effect of the atmosphere under certain conditions, due to oxidation and nitration.     

Pre-annealing and magnetic induction in inhibitor-free 3% Si–Fe strips

Effects of pre-annealing and hydrogen flow rate on final texture and magnetic induction have been investigated in inhibitor-free 100 μm thick 3% Si–Fe strips containing 18 ppm sulfur. Without any pre-annealing, the strip showed a low magnetic induction, due to various {1 1 0}, {1 0 0} and {1 1 1} final texture components. The number and the area fraction of {1 1 0} grains increased with increasing pre-annealing temperature and hydrogen flow rate. A pre-annealing temperature range that results in the sharp {1 1 0} 〈0 0 1〉 texture is observed, depending on the hydrogen flow rate.     

Influence of cold-rolling texture and heating rate on {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 development in inhibitor-free 3%Si–Fe sheets

This paper presents cold-rolling and annealing methods to obtain a high-magnetic induction in inhibitor-free 0.1-mm-thick 3% silicon–iron sheets containing 18 or 150 ppm sulfur. In case of the two-step cold-rolling, the sheets containing 150 ppm sulfur showed a strong {1 0 0} final texture at 400 °C/h, and some fraction of {1 1 0} component was observed at 25 °C/h. However, three-step cold-rolling resulted in a sharp {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 final texture at 25 °C/h. This is due to the difference in intensity ratio of {1 0 0}〈0 1 1〉 to {1 1 1}〈1 1 2〉 in the cold-rolling texture which influences the nucleation of {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 component and the selective growth kinetics of various grains. In case of 18 ppm sulfur, the final texture was mainly composed of a sharp {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 component even at 400 °C/h, due to the relatively low segregation concentration.     

Characterization of electrical steel grades for direct application to electrical machine design tools

In this paper, the importance of using directly measured loss figures is emphasized, as an alternative to the traditional loss estimation approach. The traditional approach that requires only a few direct measurements but demands more attention towards loss coefficients, empirical factors and design margins, renders a modern machine uncompetitive due to its complex flux picture. Measured loss data for two electrical steel grades is collected and provided for a wide range of frequencies and polarization levels (6–10 kHz, 0.1–1.8 T). The effect of, sample orientation (the cutting direction), sample dimensions (the cutting length) and sample production (the cutting process) on the loss figures is also measured and documented for the studied frequency–polarization domain. The aim of this measurement-based approach is to help reduce some of the uncertainties associated with the traditional approach and thus the design margins.     

Magnetic properties of spray-formed Fe–6.5%Si and Fe–6.5%Si–1.0%Al after rolling and heat treatment

The maximum silicon content in commercial Fe–Si steels is limited to about 3.5 wt%Si, since the ductility declines sharply as this maximum is exceeded, hindering the production of thin sheets by cold/hot rolling. However, the best magnetic properties are attained at about 6.5 wt%Si, a silicon content that renders magnetostriction practically null and minimizes magnetic losses. Using spray-forming, our research group has successfully produced this type of high silicon alloy in thin sheet form by carefully controlling the many variables of the process and subsequent rolling operations. In the present study, we investigated the magnetic properties and the microstructure of spray-formed Fe–6.5 wt%Si and Fe–6.5 wt%Si–1.0 wt%Al alloys after warm rolling and heat treatment. The main cause for the brittleness of Fe–6.5 wt%Si alloy has been attributed to the B2 phase long-range ordering, which leads to premature fractures. The presence of aluminum could avoid B2 formation and improve the alloy's ductility. The binary Fe–6.5 wt% Si alloy showed the best magnetic properties, which were ascribed to a recrystallized, coarse grain size (∼500 μm; and 340 μm for the Al-containing alloy). TEM analysis showed that a well-developed B2 domain structure (about 50–300 nm in size) was formed in the binary alloy when low cooling rates are prevailing after heat treatment. This structure contributed to improve additionally the magnetic properties, but its effect was not so strong as that of the grain size. The addition of Al to the binary alloy suppressed B2 formation, as indicated by Mossbauer spectroscopy, and apparently hindered excessive grain growth, which may explain the slightly poorer magnetic properties when compared with the binary alloy.     

Measurement of the stress sensitivity of magnetostriction in electrical steels under distorted waveform conditions

Electrical steel laminations used in the construction of transformer cores are subject to stresses introduced during their construction and analysis of the effect of this on the magnetostriction of the lamination has been investigated previously. It has been shown that higher harmonics of magnetostriction are of greater importance than the fundamental when considering transformer noise. Whereas previous studies have concentrated on the magnetostriction harmonics generated by sinusoidal magnetization, this investigation seeks to understand the relationship between harmonics present in the magnetization waveform and those in the magnetostriction waveform. A measurement system has been designed based on a similar principle to one previously described. In this case, a single Labview Virtual Instrument (VI) is used for the control of the applied stress, controlled magnetization and measurement of magnetostriction together with other magnetic parameters such as specific total loss, specific apparent power, permeability, coercivity and remanence. An adaptive digital feedback algorithm is utilized for control of arbitrary waveform which may be constructed from discrete harmonics or read from an input waveform. As well as measuring peak magnetostriction the software utilizes an FFT to calculate the harmonics of magnetostriction at each stress point. The effect of harmonics introduced into the magnetization waveform on the magnetostriction harmonics will be shown at various applied stresses. A harmonic, Harm_B in the flux density waveform is shown to have the effect of producing a dominant harmonic in the magnetostriction given by (Harm_B+1)/2.     

Interactive contribution of grain size and grain orientation to coercivity of melt spun ribbons

During melt spinning process, the improvement of certain grain orientation and the refinement of grain size with surface velocity have interactive and contradictory effects on the magnetic properties. The contributions of these effects have seldom been taken into account and they were discussed in this paper via Fe-2, 4, 6.5 wt% Si alloys. Heat treatment at 1173 K for 1 h was performed to show the annealing impact. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the high surface velocity and heat treatment increase the intensity ratio of line (2 0 0) to (1 1 0) of A2 phase. The (2 0 0) line corresponds to (2 0 0) plane in 〈0 0 1〉 direction, easy magnetization direction of α-Fe phase in Fe-Si alloy. The improvement of this grain orientation with the surface velocity decreases the coercivity, which should increase due to the grain refinement. It is revealed that the 〈0 0 1〉 texture promoted by the anisotropic heat release during melt spinning process is one factor to improve the magnetic properties and should be considered when preparing soft magnetic materials.     

Recent development of non-oriented electrical steel sheet for automobile electrical devices

This paper describes non-oriented electrical steel sheet for automobile motors and reactors. Electrical steel sheets for energy efficient motors show high magnetic flux density and low iron loss. They are suitable for HEV traction motors and EPS motors. A thin-gauge electrical steel sheet and a gradient Si steel sheet show low iron loss in the high-frequency range. Therefore, the efficiency of high-frequency devices can be greatly improved. Since a 6.5% Si steel sheet possesses low iron loss and zero magnetostriction, it contributes to reduce the core loss and audible noise of high-frequency reactors.     

The influence of composition and field annealing on magnetic properties of FeCo-based amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys

We report the influence of composition and very high transverse field annealing on the magnetic properties and structure of four FeCo-based amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys. The compositions (Fe₅₀Co₅₀)₈₉Zr₇B₄ and (Fe₆₅Co₃₅)₈₉Zr₇B₄ were investigated changing the Fe:Co ratio from 50:50 to 65:35. (Fe₅₀Co₅₀)₈₅Zr₂Nb₄B_8.5 was chosen to investigate Nb substitution for Zr in an FeCo-based alloy. This substitution is shown to increase the magnetostrictive constant, _λS${\lambda }_{\mathrm{S}}$, of the nanocrystalline alloy from 36×10⁻⁶ to 54×10⁻⁶. The composition (Fe₆₅Co₃₅)₈₄Cr₅Zr₇B₄ was studied to investigate the influence of Cr on intergranular coupling across the amorphous matrix. Samples of each composition were annealed in the amorphous state at 300 °C and in the nanocrystalline state at 600 °C. Field annealing was performed in 17 T transverse field in an inert atmosphere. Frequency-dependent magnetic properties were measured with an automatic recording hysteresisgraph. Static magnetic properties were measured with a vibrating sample magnetometer. The mass-specific power loss of the alloys decreased with field annealing in both the nanocrystalline and amorphous states for some frequency and induction combinations. Furthermore, the hysteresis loops are sheared after field annealing, indicating a transverse magnetic anisotropy. The nanocrystalline (Fe₅₀Co₅₀)₈₅Zr₂Nb₄B_8.5 composition has a lower relative permeability than the other compositions.     

Effect of annealing atmosphere on magnetism for Fe-doped BaTiO3 ceramic

Ba(Ti_0.3Fe_0.7)O₃ ceramic was prepared by solid-state reaction and post-annealed in vacuum and oxygen, respectively. The as-prepared and annealed samples are all single-phase, crystallizing in a 6H-BaTiO₃-type hexagonal perovskite structure. Room-temperature ferromagnetism is exhibited in all ceramics. For the as-prepared sample, the super-exchange interactions of Fe³⁺ in different occupational sites (pentahedral and octahedral sites) are expected to produce the ferromagnetism observed. After annealing in vacuum, the magnetization is reduced while the exchange mechanism remains unchanged. On the contrary, O₂ annealing can effectively enhance the magnetization due to the presence of Fe⁴⁺, an unusual valence for iron. The simultaneous presence of Fe³⁺ and Fe⁴⁺ allows new exchange mechanism responsible for the ferromagnetic interaction. The exchange couplings of Fe ions with mixed valences (Fe³⁺ and Fe⁴⁺) determine the magnetic behavior.     

Electronic structure and ferromagnetism of polycrystalline Zn1−xCoxO (0≤x≤0.15)

The electronic structure of polycrystalline ferromagnetic Zn_1−xCo_xO (0.05≤x≤0.15) and the oxidation state of Co in it, have been investigated. The Co-doped polycrystalline samples are synthesized by a combustion method and are ferromagnetic at room temperature. XPS and optical absorption studies show evidence for Co²⁺ ions in the tetrahedral symmetry, indicating substitution of Co²⁺ in the ZnO lattice. However, powder XRD and electron diffraction data show the presence of Co metal in the samples. This give evidence to the fact that some Co²⁺ ion are incorporated in the ZnO lattice which gives changes in the electronic structure whereas ferromagnetism comes from the Co metal impurities present in the samples.     

Production for high thermal stability NdFeB magnets

To improve sintered NdFeB magnets’ thermal stability and magnetic properties, combined addition of elements Cu and Gd was investigated. It was found that with Gd addition increase to 1.0%, the temperature coefficient α improved from −0.15 to −0.05%/°C (maximum working temperature 120 °C), but the remanence and the maximum energy product linearly decreased. With addition of Cu in Gd-containing magnets the intrinsic coercivity increased greatly, and the remanence increased also because of their density improvement, and optimum Cu content was achieved at 0.2%. Microstructure analysis showed that most of the Cu distributed at grain boundaries and led to clear and smooth morphologies. Magnets with high thermal stability α=−0.05%/°C and magnetic properties were obtained with addition of Gd=0.8% and Cu=0.2%.     

Grain growth process of two-phase nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials

In order to clarify the origin of the high thermal stability of the microstructure in bcc-Fe/amorphous two-phase nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials, we have investigated the changes in the magnetic and microstructural properties upon isothermal annealing at 898 K for an Fe₈₉Zr₇B₃Cu₁ alloy by means of transmission electron microscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy and DC magnetometry. The mean grain size was found to remain almost unchanged at the early stage of annealing. However, rapid grain coarsening was evident at an annealing time of 7.2 ks where the intergranular amorphous phase begins to crystallize into Fe₂₃Zr₆. The grain growth process with a kinetic exponent of 1.6 is observed for the growth process beyond this annealing time, reflecting the disappearance of the intergranular amorphous phase. Our results confirm that the thermal stability of the bcc-Fe/amorphous two-phase nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys is governed by the residual amorphous phase.     

Multiscale modeling of the magneto-mechanical behavior of grain-oriented silicon steels

The prediction of the magnetic and magnetostrictive behavior of grain-oriented (GO) silicon steels is discussed. An experimental procedure for the measurement of the magneto-mechanical quantities is first detailed. Experimental measurements of the anhysteretic magnetization and magnetostriction are compared to results from the literature. A multiscale model, based on an energetic approach and infinite medium hypothesis, is used. Significant discrepancies between experiments and predictions are highlighted. The specimen shape combined to large grain size induces some strong boundary (surface) conditions leading to a change in the definition of the local potential energy. A specific demagnetizing term is introduced in the definition of the potential energy, creating an initial heterogeneous distribution of the magnetic domains and saturating the magnetostriction along the rolling direction. This modification strongly increases the ability of the model to predict the magneto-mechanical behavior of GO steels.