The micro-structure of silicon steel and its relation to the electrical and magnetic losses

Abstract

At the Sixth Congress of the International Association for Testing Materials, no less than eight papers were submitted dealing with electrical and magnetic properties of various steels and alloy-steels, but comparatively few of these papers were concerned with the micro metallographic relation of these properties. The last year, however, has witnessed a marked interest in this phase of the science and papers by Langenberg and Weber, and by Yenseng, using medium-carbon steel and purified electrolytic iron, respectively, show that the practical possibilities of the work are being recognized. If certain microstructures were known to correspond with certain definite electrical or magnetic properties, a simple polishing, etching and examination of the substance might take the place of a lengthy, delicate and complex magnetic or electrical measurement. This method might be applied to the testing of iron and alloy steels used for electrical machinery, now being accomplished by electrical methods more or less complicated and lengthy. The amount of steel and alloys consumed for electrical machinery is a large proportion of the total steel output and there is decided competition in manufacturing the best grades of irons and steels for electrical use. This paper is the result of an endeavor to correlate the micro-structure of Silicon steel and its electrical and magnetic losses for which no data exist.