Effect of Boron Content on the Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Non-oriented Electrical Steels

The effects of boron content in the range of 0-0.0082 wt%, on the inclusion type, microstructurc, texture and magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels have been studied. After final annealing, the addition of excess boron（w（B0〉0.004 1 wt%） led to the formation of Fe2B particles. As boron content increased, grain size increased and reached a maximum in steel with 0.004 1 wt% boron. Furthermore, steel containing 0.004 1 wt% boron had the strongest { 100} fiber texture, Goss texture and the weakest { 111 } fiber texture among the five tested steels. Flux density firstly rapidly increased and then suddenly decreased with increasing boron content and reached a maximum in steel with 0.004 1 wt% boron. Conversely, core loss first sharply decreased and then abruptly increased with the increase of boron content and reached a minimum in steel containing 0.004 1 wt% boron. Steel containing 0.004 1 wt% boron obtained the best magnetic properties, predominantly through the development of optimum grain size and favorable texture.

Effect of annealing parameter on microstructure and magnetic properties of cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel

The microstructure and magnetic properties of cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel,annealed at 200-1 000 ℃ for 0-240 min with different heating rates,were investigated by optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,Epstein frame,and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the magnetic properties of cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel can be improved by controlling the annealing process to obtain uniform coarse grains with critical sizes after the recovery,recrystallization and growth of grains. Additionally,the annealing temperature influences the magnetic properties more significantly than annealing time,and with the increase of heating-up rate during the annealing process,the magnetic properties of the cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel increase.

Fatigue Cracking Characterization of High Grade Non-oriented Electrical Steels

The fatigue behavior of 30 WGP1600 non-oriented electrical steel, which is generally used in the motors for electrical vehicles, was investigated. The detailed microstructure and dislocation configurations of the fatigue specimens were examined by OM, SEM, and TEM. The test results showed that fatigue cracks were commonly initiated from the surface grain boundaries, crystals plane, and inclusions. The rapid fatigue crack propagation was characterized by transgranular cleavage fracture, while most transient fracture exhibited ductile tearing characteristics. After cyclic deformation of the non-oriented electrical steels, various dislocation structures, such as short and thick lines, veins, persistent slip bands, cells, and labyrinth, were observed.

High temperature plastic deformation behavior of non-oriented electrical steel

High temperature plastic deformation behavior of non-orientated electrical steel was investigated by Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical simulator at strain rate of 0.01-10 s-1 and high temperature of 500-1 200 ℃. The stress level factor (α), stress exponent (n), structural factor (A) and activation energy (Q) of high temperature plastic deformation process of non-orientated electrical steel in different temperature ranges were calculated by the Arrhenius model. The results show that, with dynamic elevation of deformation temperature, phase transformation from α-Fe to γ-Fe takes place simultaneously during plastic deformation, dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization process, leading to an irregular change of the steady flow stress. For high temperature plastic deformation between 500 and 800 ℃, the calculated values of α, n, A, and Q are 0.039 0 MPa-1, 7.93, 1.9×1018 s-1, and 334.8 kJ/mol, respectively, and for high temperature plastic deformation between 1 050 and 1 200 ℃, the calculated values of α, n, A, and Q are 0.125 8 MPa-1, 5.29, 1.0×1028 s-1, and 769.9 kJ/mol, respectively.

Effect of Cutting Techniques on the Structure and Magnetic Properties of a High-grade Non-oriented Electrical Steel

The high grade non-oriented electrical steel sheets containing 3.0%Si were manufacturing processed using different cutting techniques, then they were stress relief annealed（SRA）, the profiles and textures of the cutting edges were compared before and after annealing, and the magnetic properties of these specimens were tested and compared. The experimental results show that the iron loss of the specimen by water jet cutting is the lowest, but the magnetic induction under the low magnetic field is the highest, the iron loss of the specimen by laser cutting is the highest, but the magnetic induction under the low magnetic field is the lowest. It is necessary to adopt suitable production conditions and minimize the deterioration involved, and the magnetic property can be recovered by SRA effectively.

Development history and technological progress of non-oriented electrical steel sheets at Baosteel

This paper briefly summarized the development history, product catalogue and magnetic properties of non- oriented electrical steel sheets at Baosteel, as well as the development and application of high-value-added steel grades. Recent advances in manufacturing electrical steel sheets were also introduced, including technologies for controlling inclusion,for producing high-grade steel strips by a tandem rolling mill and for controlling the transverse thickness difference of steel sheets, and the development of environmentally friendly coatings.

Effect of lanthanum content on microstructure and magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels

The effect of lanthanum content in the range of 04）.01 1 wt.%, on the inclusion size distribution, microstructure, texture and magnetic properties of three non-oriented electrical steels was studied. After final annealing, lanthanum effectively inhibited the precipitation of MnS precipitates in steel, the formations of La2O2S and LaS inclusions not only acted as nuclei of AlN precipitates, but also combined with A1203 and formed composite inclusions with larger size. Grain size firstly increased and then decreased with lanthanum content increasing. Steel containing 0.0066 wt.% lanthanum obtained the largest grain size, the strongest { 110} 〈 110〉 texture and the weakest { 112}〈110〉 texture among all the tested steels. Magnetic flux density firstly increased and then decreased, core loss firstly dramatically decreased and then slightly decreased with lanthanum content increasing. Among the three tested steels, steel with 0.0066 wt.% lanthanum demonstrated the best comprehensive magnetic properties mainly through the development of favorable texture and appropriate final grain size.

Calculation of AlN and MnS Precipitation in Non-Oriented Electrical Steel Produced by CSP Process

Combining with the study of analogue experiments and test analysis, the kinetics of precipitation and growth of AlN and MnS in non-oriented electrical steel produced by the CSP process is calculated. The results show that the precipitate phase particles of AlN and MnS in typical non-oriented electrical steel grades produced by the CSP process have grown to some extent in the soaking stage, but the precipitation contents are less than 20% of the total contents of nitride and sulfide. The precipitate phase particles of AlN and MnS have precipitated almost after the hot rolling process. The precipitation contents are more than 80% of the total contents of nitride and sulfide, but it is very late for the precipitate phase particles to grow at the end of the hot rolling process.

AlN Precipitates and Microstructure in Non-oriented Electrical Steels Produced by Twin-roll Casting Process

Aluminum nitride （AIN） precipitates and microstructure of 4 wt.% （Si＋AI） non-oriented electrical steel were investigated. The 2.0 mm thick cast strips with three different silicon/aluminum （Si/AI） ratios were produced by twin-roll casting process, then the strips were reheated, warm rolled, cold rolled and annealed. The microstructure and AIN precipitates were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that with the increase of Si/AI ratio, on the one hand, the casting microstructure changed from columnar grains to equiaxed grains, and the uniformity of annealed microstructure was improved; On the other hand, the number of AIN precipitates in cast strips reduced meanwhile the distribution became dispersed. By the reheat treatment, the size and distribution of the AIN precipitates can be changed. Moreover, the grain size of the annealed strips is in the range of 20-50 #m, at the same time, many AIN precipitates were located at grain boundaries. Therefore, controlling the Si/AI ratio is a simple method to obtain desired microstructure. Then AIN precipitates in non-oriented electrical steel prepared by twin-roll casting process hinder markedly the recrystallized grains growth, A compatible reheat treatment can be an approach worth exploring to control the behavior of AIN precipitates.

Effect of Heating Rate on Microstructure Evolution and Magnetic Properties of Cold Rolled Non-Oriented Electrical Steel

The effects of heating rate （ranging from 50 to 300 ℃/s） during the final annealing process on microstructure evolution and magnetic properties of cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel were investigated. It was found that increasing heating rate increased the nucleation temperature and complete recrystallization temperature. At the same time, heating rate increasing could cause the substantially refined structures for the recrystallization grains and this grain refinement would decline when the heating rate was beyond 50 ℃/s. The recrystallization texture exhibited pronounced improvement with heating rate, such as the intensity decrease of 〈111〉//ND （normal direction） fiber and the intensity increase of { 110}%〈001〉 Goss texture component. The texture improvement and grain size refinement caused by heating rate increasing resulted in complicated variation of the magnetic properties. The magnetic induction （B50） keeps increasing while heating rate increases from 15 to 300 ℃/s which is due to the recrystallized texture optimization caused by rapid heating. The core losses （P1.5/50） decrease while heating rate increases from 15 to 100 ℃/s; however, the core losses would increase when heating rate is higher than 100 ℃/s, which is caused by the mean grain size refinement after rapid heating annealing. The results indicate that recrystallization texture and the magnetic properties of the non-oriented electrical steel can be improved definitely by rapid heating during the final annealing treatment.

Evaluation of Microstructure and Magnetic Properties in Non-oriented Electrical Steel Strained by Tension

The effects of deformation on the microstructure and magnetic properties of non oriented electrical steels were investigated. Box annealed electrical steel sheets were deformed by tension at four different strains： 3%, 8%, 12 % and 25 % The internal grain misorientation caused by tensile deformation was measured by electron backscat- tering diffraction （EBSD） with grain orientation spread （GOS） as an indicator of the lattice distortion. The experi- mental results showed that the average GOS value increases with the strain. The microstructure and crystallographic texture of deformed samples did not show a significant change in samples strained below 25 %. However, the mag- netic properties were strongly affected： coercivity was directly proportional to the square root of the GOS value and energy losses increased as the strain level was increased.

Effect of pre-annealing prior to cold rolling on the precipitation,microstructure and magnetic properties of strip-cast non-oriented electrical steels

A novel processing route involving strip casting, pre-annealing treatment, cold rolling and recrystallization annealing was applied to a Fe-2.6%Si steel to improve the magnetic properties. The impact of as-cast strip pre-annealing on the microstructure, texture, precipitation and magnetic properties were investigated by electron probe micro-analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis,etc. It was found that the precipitation of second-phase particles during strip casting was restrained by rapid solidification. The absence of pre-annealing led to the occurrence of a large amount of 20-50 nm Mn S precipitates in the final annealed sheets, which is responsible for fine grains and high core loss（4.01 W/kg） due to grain boundary pinning effect. Although the microstructure and texture of 900-1000？C pre-annealed samples were similar to those of as-cast strip, significant grain coarsening together with the strengthening of-fiber texture was observed in the 1100？C pre-annealed strips. In comparison with the case of as-cast strip, a higher amount of large-sized precipitates consisting of manganese sulfide and/or aluminum nitride occurred in matrix after pre-annealing. Correspondingly, in the final annealed sheets, the number density of precipitates with sizes smaller than 100 nm was substantially reduced, and100-200 nm and 200-500 nm sized particles became more dominant in samples subjected to 30-min and 120-min pre-annealing treatments respectively. In addition, the average grain size of final annealed sheets increased with the pre-annealing temperature and time because of the weakened pining effect of coarsen precipitates. Ultimately, the magnetic induction of samples subjected to pre-annealing was slightly increased and ranged from 1.73 T to 1.75 T owing to the enhancement of {100} recrystallization texture, and simultaneously the core loss significantly decreased until a minimum of 3.26 W/kg was reached. Nevertheless, large number of 200-500 nm particles presented during pre-annealing for 120 min could weaken the improvement in core loss which is likely associated with the pinning effect on magnetic domain wall.

Formation of Edge Crack in 1.4%Si Non-oriented Electrical Steel during Hot Rolling

Microstructure evolution, dynamic recrystallization, high temperature oxidation and hot ductility of 1.4 % Si non-oriented electrical steel sheets were investigated to reduce edge cracking. The causes of cracking were found to be coarse as-cast microstructure, grain boundary oxidation in reheating furnace, lack of dynamic recrystallization during hot rolling and increase of temperature, resulting in reduced hot ductility in strip edge region. Countermeas- ures against the edge crack are proposed accordingly. Lowering reheating temperature and reducing holding time re- duced oxidation and decarburization. Hot charging temperature was increased to decrease reheating temperature. And using an edger can refine microstructure in strip edge region. Finally, edge heater can be added to increase edge re- gion formability by inducing dynamic reerystallization and ductility by increasing temperature.

Possible influence of sulfur content on magnetic aging behaviors of non-oriented electrical steels

Six non-oriented steel sheets of similar grade produced by different steel companies were used to analyze the magnetic aging behaviors after aging at 200~C for 48 h. It was observed that tiny S atoms, besides C and N, could also induce certain increase of core loss during aging. Thermodynamic calculation indicated that the nucleation driving force of FeS is much higher than those of Fe3C and Fe4N at low temperature, while S atoms, which tend to segregated around dislocations and boundaries, would diffuse rapidly along the crystalline defects while FeS particles would form. Therefore, higher content of tiny S atoms could increase core loss during service time of non-oriented steel sheets.

冷轧压下率对高强无取向电工钢变形组织和磁性能的影响

借助场发射扫描电镜(SEM+EBSD)、快速升温管式炉和交流磁性能测量仪研究高强无取向电工钢冷轧变形组织和磁性能随冷轧压下率的变化规律。结果表明:冷轧高强无取向电工钢中形成含有大量亚结构的粗糙条带和变形量较小的光滑条带。粗糙条带具有γ取向,主要为{111}〈110〉,光滑条带具有{112}〈110〉和{001}〈110〉取向。粗糙条带中存在大量宽度约为2~3μm的剪切带,与轧向呈20°~35°夹角,且随压下率增大,数量逐渐增多。剪切带与基体间具有一定取向差,随压下率增大,剪切带逐渐从{111}〈110〉取向转向{223}〈110〉取向,与基体间取向差逐渐增大。退火后Goss和{111}面织构增多,{001}面织构减少;轧向磁感应强度增大,横向磁感应强度减小,各向异性显著,铁损下降。

无取向电工钢CSP-冷轧-退火过程中的织构演变

利用ODF图研究了采用CSP工艺生产的热轧带钢为基料的无取向电工钢在冷轧生产过程中的织构演变。结果表明,无取向电工钢冷轧生产过程中,从CSP热轧带钢到退火成品,织构强度逐渐减弱。从热轧带钢到冷轧带钢织构骨架线保持不变,都是沿<011>方向。退火态成品织构分布比较均匀。无取向电工钢在冷轧生产过程中,晶粒取向由α纤维线向γ纤维线转动。当w(Si+Al)从1.0%增加至1.5%时,在冷轧及退火过程中它对热轧织构的影响逐渐减弱。

Al对Fe-0.6%Si无取向电工钢的织构及磁性能的影响机制探讨

利用X-射线衍射技术测定了添加Al的Fe-0.6%Si无取向电工钢主要{hkl}的点阵畸变、形变织构和再结晶织构,并研究了它们之间的关系。发现添加0.3%Al后,Al N质点的存在增加了冷轧晶粒的点阵畸变,降低了有利织构组分的相对点阵畸变储能和γ-纤维织构(<111>//ND)的密度,导致成品中的有利织构组分减少,磁性降低。延长退火保温时间是改善添加0.3%Al的Fe-0.6%Si无取向电工钢磁性的一条途径。

无取向电工钢剪切仿真Johnson-Cook模型参数确定及剪切过程研究

为了建模仿真分析无取向电工钢剪切加工过程,首先使用万能试验机对4种35WW300无取向电工钢拉伸试样进行不同应力三轴度的拉伸实验,获得拉伸过程中的载荷-位移曲线和Johnson-Cook模型参数。其次,利用Abaqus有限元软件建立拉伸试样的准静态仿真模型,得到表面光滑、圆弧缺口、V形缺口和剪切等4种试样的应力三轴度大小分别为0.333、0.483、0.550和0.050,并根据拉伸实验数据结合仿真模拟结果进行数据拟合,得到无取向电工钢剪切模拟的Johnson-Cook本构方程和断裂准则模型参数,完成建模。最后,通过无取向电工钢在不同剪切间隙的横向剪切加工实验与数值模拟的特征带参数对比,验证了Johnson-Cook模型及拟合参数对模拟无取向电工钢塑性变形和剪切断裂过程的有效性,表明所建立模型用于仿真分析电工钢剪切过程可行有效。

典型特殊制备技术对无取向电工钢织构的影响规律

电工钢又称硅钢,是一种重要的特殊钢,常被称作特殊钢中的“艺术品”,这主要是因为其加工制备流程复杂、性能影响因素繁多。其中无取向硅钢主要应用于旋转电磁场环境,为了获得优良的软磁性能,需要形成较多的{100}等有利织构,为此研究人员进行了大量探索,近年来发现一些特殊制备技术在形成大量{100}等有利织构方面有显著效果。本文综述二次轧制、斜轧、异步轧制及双辊薄带连铸四种典型特殊制备技术对无取向硅钢再结晶织构的影响规律,发现二次轧制与双辊薄带连铸均能增强λ与高斯织构,并削弱γ织构,斜轧也会增强λ织构,但对γ织构影响不大,异速异步轧制能增强η织构,而异径异步轧制对再结晶织构却基本没有影响。最后,总结目前各项特殊制备技术存在的缺陷,并提出一些发展方向,如借助斜轧原理在常规冷轧中产生更多剪切带、利用异步轧制进行二次加工以均匀化磁感等,为后续无取向硅钢的工业生产提供更多参考。

高硅无取向电工钢的高温氧化行为

采用对比实验研究了不同温度下的高硅无取向电工钢的氧化行为,利用场发射扫描电子显微镜及其EDS功能观察了经不同温度(1030~1240℃)加热后高硅无取向电工钢氧化层的微观形貌、结构组成及合金元素的偏析现象.结果表明:经高温加热后的高硅无取向电工钢氧化层主要包括4部分,分别为纯氧化铁层、铁橄榄石和氧化铁混合层、富Si区与贫Si区混合层、致密氧化膜层;高温氧化过程中会产生Si成分偏析现象,1240℃时Si的偏析深度可达130μm,不同深度偏析处的Si质量分数相差可达0.9%,且随着温度的降低,偏析程度逐渐减弱,直至消失.