1. Electrical Steel

      

Our modern world cannot subsist without Electricity. Since centuries efforts has been made to convert Mechanical energy to Electrical energy. Technology was invented to transmit the electrical energy that was created from one place to another. Then came the Grids which could distribute the electrical energy which was termed “Power”. As our worldly requirements began to expand, the need for Electrical Power also increased in our society. The growth depended on the development of new appliances which supported our livelihood. One of them was the section which included the use of Electrical Power by using efficient transformers, generators and motors. The first step toward making these ecological and technological advancements is the development of more efficient Electrical Steels.

Electrical Steel is an essential component for electromagnetic machines. It is used to create magnetic cores that help power transformers, power generators, and more. It is called by many names Lamination Steel, Silicon Steel, Transformer Steel, but all of these terms share in their unique magnetic properties.

Electrical Steel is a ferromagnetic alloy made up of mainly iron that contains certain amounts of Silicon (Si). Silicon is an electro-positive element found in nature in the form of silicon dioxide (like some types of sand and many rocks). The idea to introduce Silicon is to minimize the Carbon content. The composition of this alloy which is mostly called Silicon Steel is Carbon (C) 0.003%, Silicon (Si) 3.5%, Aluminum (Al) 0.5%, and Manganese (Mn) 0.5%.

In a research conducted between 1882 and 1900, Robert Hadfield discovered that Silicon increased the magnetic permeability of Iron. This led to the first commercial use of Silicon Steel for electrical applications, like electric motors, in 1906. The discovery, in 1926 by Honda and Kaya, of the correlation between magnetic permeability and crystallographic orientations in iron single crystals led to subsequent developments that were later applied to this Steel Alloy.

Electrical Steel which is composed of iron and silicon is responsible for guiding magnetic flux. Unlike conventional steel, Electrical Steel is created specifically for superior magnetic characteristics. The silicon in it lessens eddy current energy loss by increasing electrical resistivity. Electrical Steel is suited for electromagnetic applications like transformers and motors because silicon changes the magnetic behavior of the material.

The Physical properties can be listed as thus:

Density 7.65 g/cm3

Ultimate Tensile Strength (Angle to Rolling Direction 0°-90°) 361-405 MPa

Thermal Conductivity (20-600 °C) 70-0.0715 Cal/cm2

Electrical resistivity 48 Microhm-cm

Thermal Coefficient of Resistivity (20-145 °C) 0.047 Microhm-cm/°C

Heat Capacity 0.12 Cal/g/°C

Curie Temperature 730 °C.