Response of a non-oriented 2.0 wt% silicon steel to processing variables

A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the processing response of a 2% silicon steel in both full-hard and semi-processed conditions. Results showed that the 1.5 T core loss of decarburized full-hard steel decreased at a rate of 0.84 W/kg/100°C with increasing decarburization temperature in the range of 790°C to 900°C. The observed reduction was directly related to the increase in grain size. In contrast, the permeability at 1.5 T and higher inductions was essentially unaffected as the annealing temperature was raised from 790°C to 840°C, but a substantial improvement was only noted at 900°C. This was primarily due to the development of a magnetically favorable texture. Decarburized semi-processed steel exhibited inferior magnetic properties with temper rolling. A 30% drop in the 1.5 T permeability was due to poor texture, whereas slightly higher core loss resulted from the increased anomalous loss caused by the large grain size (>200 μm).