Magnetic properties of Fe and Fe-Si alloys with {100}⟨0vw⟩ texture

When iron and its alloy sheets with clean metal surfaces undergo the gamma to alpha phase transformation, they develop strong {100}< 0vw > texture with grain size being larger than the sheet thickness. For example, when Fe or Fe-1%Si sheets were subjected to the gamma to alpha phase transformation in a reducing gas atmosphere (hydrogen gas having the dew point below -50 degrees C), strong {100}< 0vw > texture developed. Magnetic properties of Fe and Fe-Si alloys show that, by developing the {100}< 0vw > texture, the core loss can be reduced by more than 25% and the permeability can be increased by 2-5 times. With 0.35 mm-thick Fe-1%Si with the {100}< 0vw > texture, the magnetic properties are W-15/50 (core loss at 1.5 T, 50 Hz) = 2.7 W/kg and B-50 (magnetic flux density at 5000 A/m) = 1.80 T. The improvement of permeability together with reducing iron loss by texture control will make a significant contribution to improving power density as well as reducing copper losses in induction motors. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics.