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Electrical steel, also called silicon electrical steel, is a type of specialty steel that contains relatively high amounts of silicon, 3 to 4.5%, in order to produce certain magnetic properties, such as low core loss and high permeability. It is usually in the form of cold-rolled strips less than 2 mm thick, which are called laminations when packed together. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Silicon steel is a soft magnetic material, a steel containing silicon, usually with virtually no other alloying elements. ... The old steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon being the primary alloying material. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance dark gray, bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ... In physics, magnetism is a phenomenon by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. ... A magnetic core is the core of an electromagnet or inductor. ... In electromagnetism, permeability is the degree of magnetisation of a material that responds linearly to an applied magnetic field. ... A laminate is a material constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. ...

There are two main types of electrical steel, grain-oriented and non-oriented. Both contain 3 to 3.5% silicon, but some electrical steel may have up to 4.5% silicon, which increases electrical resistance. Carbon, sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen levels must be low, as they increase eddy currents and hysteresis losses while decreasing permeability. Carbon has the worst effect and also causes magnetic aging, resulting in an increase in power loss over time. Annealing the steel in a decarburizing atmosphere, such as hydrogen, reduces levels of carbon. Electrical steel is usually coated to increase electrical resistance between laminations and to provide resistance to corrosion or rust. There are various coatings, organic and inorganic, and the coating used depends on the application of the steel. Electrical resistance is a measure of the degree to which an electrical component opposes the passage of current. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Atomic mass 32. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... As the circular plate moves down through a small region of constant magnetic field directed into the page, eddy currents are induced in the plate. ... In physics, magnetism is a phenomenon by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. ... Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment wherein the microstructure of a material is altered, causing changes in its properties such as strength and hardness. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Corrosion, atmospheric and biologic (Barnacles) Corrosion is deterioration of intrinsic properties in a material due to reactions with its environment. ... A blacksmith removing rust with sand prior to welding The rusting can completely eat away iron Rusted bolt Rust is the substance formed when iron compounds corrode in the presence of oxygen and water. ... An organic compound is any of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon, with exception of carbides, carbonates and carbon oxides. ... Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and reactions of inorganic compounds. ...

Grain-oriented electrical steel usually has a silicon level of 3% and is processed in such a way that the optimum properties are developed in the coil rolling direction. Magnetic flux density is increased by 30% in the oriented steel, and it has a glass-like surface that provides insulation. However, its magnetic saturation is decreased. Grain-oriented electrical steel is used for the core of high-efficiency transformers, motors and generators. Magnetic field density, otherwise known as magnetic flux density, is essentially what the layman knows as a magnetic field - akin to a gravitational or electric field. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colours as shown in this ball from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... For magnetic materials, saturation is the state when the material cannot absorb a stronger magnetic field, such that an increase of magnetization force produces no significant change in magnetic flux density. ... Three-phase pole-mounted step-down transformer. ... Rotating magnetic field as a sum of magnetic vectors from 3 phase coils. ... An electrical generator is a device that produces electrical energy from a mechanical energy source. ...

Non-oriented electrical steel usually has a silicon level of 3 to 4.5% and has similar magnetic properties in all directions. It is less expensive and is used in similar applications when efficiency is less important or when there is insufficient space to correctly orient components to take advantage of the directional properties of grain-oriented electrical steel.

References

• Allegheny Ludlum
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• School Science
• Seco/Warwick