Electrical steel

Electric steel, also called lamination steel, silicon electrical steel, silicon steel or
transformer steel, is specialty steel tailored to produce certain magnetic properties, such as a
small hysteresis area (small energy dissipation per cycle, or low core loss) and high permeability.

The material is usually manufactured in the form of cold-rolled strips less than 2 mm thick.
These strips are called laminations when stacked together to form a core. Once assembled, they
form the laminated cores of transformers or the stator and rotor parts of electric motors.
Laminations may be cut to their finished shape by a punch and die, or in smaller quantities may
be cut by a laser, or by wire erosion.

Metallurgy
Electrical steel is an iron alloy which may have from zero to 6.5% silicon (Si:5Fe). Silicon
significantly increases the electrical resistivity of the steel, which decreases the induced eddy
currents and thus reduces the core loss. Manganese and aluminum can be added up to 0.5%.

Increasing the amount of silicon inhibits eddy currents and narrows the hysteresis loop of the
material, thus lowering the core losses. However, the grain structure hardens and embrittles the
metal, which adversely affects the workability of the material, especially when rolling it. When
alloying, the concentration levels of carbon, sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen must be kept low, as
these elements indicate the presence of carbides, sulfides, oxides and nitrides. These compounds,
even in particles as small as one micrometer in diameter, increase hysteresis losses while also
decreasing magnetic permeability. The presence of carbon has a more detrimental effect than
sulfur or oxygen. Carbon also causes magnetic aging when it slowly leaves the solid solution and
precipitates as carbides, thus resulting in an increase in power loss over time. For these reasons,
the carbon level is kept to 0.005% or lower. The carbon level can be reduced by annealing the
steel in a decarburizing atmosphere, such as hydrogen.

Physical properties examples

Density: 7650 kg/m3 (example for 3% silicon content)

Resistivity: 47.2×10-8 (Ω·m) (example for 3% silicon content)

Grain orientation
There are two main types of electrical steel: grain-oriented and non-oriented.
Grain-oriented electrical steel usually has a silicon level of 3% (Si:11Fe). It is processed in such
a way that the optimum properties are developed in the rolling direction, due to a tight control
(proposed by Norman P. Goss) of the crystal orientation relative to the sheet. Due to the special
orientation, the magnetic flux density is increased by 30% in the coil rolling direction, although
its magnetic saturation is decreased by 5%. It is used for the cores of high-efficiency
transformers, electric motor and generators.

Non-oriented electrical steel usually has a silicon level of 2 to 3.5% and has similar magnetic
properties in all directions, which makes it isotropic. It is less expensive and is used in
applications where the direction of magnetic flux is changing, such as electric motors and
generators. It is also used when efficiency is less important or when there is insufficient space to
correctly orient components to take advantage of the anisotropic properties of grain-oriented
electrical steel.

Lamination coatings
Electrical steel is usually coated to increase electrical resistance between laminations, to provide
resistance to corrosion or rust, and to act as a lubricant during the cutting. There are various
coatings, organic and inorganic, and the coating used depends on the application of the steel. The
type of coating selected depends on the heat treatment of the laminations, whether the finished
lamination will be immersed in oil, and the working temperature of the finished apparatus.
Former practice was to insulate each lamination with a layer of paper or a varnish coating, but
this reduced the stacking factor of the core and limited the maximum temperature of the core.

Magnetic properties
The magnetic properties of electrical steel are dependent on heat treatment, as increasing the
average crystal size decreases the hysteresis loss. Hysteresis loss is determined by a standard test
and for common grades of electrical steel may range from about 2 to 10 watts per kilogram (1 to
5 watts per pound) at 60 Hz and 1.5 tesla magnetic field strength. Semi-processed electrical
steels are delivered in a state that, after punching the final shape, a final heat treatment develops
the desired 150-micrometer grain size. The fully processed steels are usually delivered with
insulating coating, full heat treatment, and defined magnetic properties, for applications where
the punching operation does not significantly degrade the material properties. Excessive bending,
incorrect heat treatment, or even rough handling of core steel can adversely effect its magnetic
properties and may also increase noise due to magnetostriction

Amorphous steel
For certain transformers, cores made of amorphous steel are used. This material is a metallic
glass prepared by pouring molten alloy steel on a rotating cooled wheel, which cools the metal so
quickly (a rate of about one megakelvin per second) that crystals do not form. The resulting
amorphous metal transformers may have losses due to the core material only one-third that of
conventional steels. However, its high cost (about twice that of conventional steel) and lower
mechanical properties make use of amorphous steel economical only for certain distribution-type
transformers.

Practical concerns
Core steel is much more costly than the mild steel used for apparatus tanks, generator frames,
etc. - in 1981 it was more than twice the cost per unit weight.

The size of magnetic domains in the sheet can be reduced by scribing the surface of the sheet
with a laser, or mechanically. This greatly reduces the hysteresis losses in the assembled core. [6]