Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 157/158 (1996) 428-431

Journalof
magnetism
JH and
magnetic
malerlals
ELSEVIER Invited paper

Advances in Fe-Si properties and their interpretation

F a u s t o Fiorillo *
lstituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris and INFM-GNSM, C.so M. d'Azeglio 42, 10125 Torino, Italy

Abstract
Recent progress in the preparation and magnetic properties understanding of improved FeSi laminations is shortly
reviewed. Attention is devoted, in particular, to methods leading to decreased energy losses, either by means of improved
structural properties or high Si content (up to 6.5 wt%). It is put in evidence that the physical modelling of losses, besides
providing a rationale for the improvement of the material properties, can lead to very general predictions, where the
lamination performances under complex regimes, as found in many devices, can be correctly described.

Keywords: FeSi alloys; Energy losses; High Si alloys

1. Introduction 2. Development and properties of improved alloys

FeSi alloys are mass produced and employed since
many decades and are expected to remain the most broadly
applied soft magnetic materials in the foreseeable future.
Because of their strategic role in energy conversion, FeSi
alloys have been the subject of ceaseless research efforts,
aiming both at the improvement of their basic magnetic
features and their optimal use in electrical machines. While,
under the pressure of energy saving policies, steady
progress has occurred in the quality of the commercially
available grain-oriented and non-oriented laminations, a
variety of new studies and solutions on low loss alloys
have been proposed in the literature during the last decade.
At the same time, increasingly accurate and general loss
models have appeared, which constitute a solid back-
ground for further advances in the performances of alloys
and magnetic cores.
In the present paper we discuss some results concerning
recent developments in the field of FeSi-alloys preparation
and loss prediction. Reduced energy loss laminations are
obtained through a number of approaches: reduced thick-
ness, increased structural perfection, reduced domain spac-
ing, increased Si content. But the so achieved loss im-
provements, verified by standard measuring methods, need
to be correlated with the actual material performances in
magnetic cores. A way to do so is by use of advanced loss
modelling, permitting one to predict loss figures under
complex exciting regimes from knowledge of limited stan-
dard data. The basic features of such models, which have
been a main subject of investigation in the author's labora-
tory, are summarized in the paper.
* Fax: + 39-11-650-7611; email: fiorillo@omega.ien.it.
FeSi 3 wt% grain-oriented alloys (GO) characterized by
high crystallographic perfection, low losses and high per-
meability are industrially produced since many years [1-3]
and the related metallurgical processes are generally as-
sessed [4], although the quantitative theoretical interpreta-
tion of the (110) [001] secondary recrystallization process
is lagging somewhat behind applications and is still under
active investigation [5]. Evolutionary trends in grain ori-
ented steels have favoured the development of low loss
materials, an attitude justified by the fact that even small
savings in energy consumption, when capitalized over the
lifetime of the apparatus, can lead to substantial reductions
of the total ownership costs [6]. Domain refinement and
decrease of the lamination thickness, combined with sharp
(110) [001] orientation, are among the most intensely
pursued methods of loss reduction. Surface scribing, aimed
at the multiplication of the number of the domain walls,
has become standard industrial practice and is typically
applied to the top quality grades. Laser scribing [7], spark
ablation [8], and chemical etching [9] are among the com-
monly applied domain refining techniques, by which peri-
odic grooves are formed on the final coated lamination
surface, leading to the creation of free poles and nucleation
of new domains. The formation of periodic local strain
bands by compression through gear-type rolls [10] or ball
units [11] has also been proposed as a domain refining
method, having the advantage of not damaging the surface
insulation layer. The domain wall density in highly (110)
[001] oriented sheets is drastically increased (two/three
times) by scribing and the associated loss reduction is of
the order of 10-15% at 50 Hz. It is interesting to remark
that a much larger loss decrease, roughly proportional to
the decrease of the domain wall spacing, would be ex-

0304-8853/96/$15.00 Copyright 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

SSDI 0304-8853(95)01244-3
 F. Fiorillo/ Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 157/158 (1996) 428-431
pected from application of the Pry and Bean model [12],
the theoretical loss framework often adopted by workers in
the field. As shown by Bertotti's loss model, a rationale
for this discrepancy can be found through the concept of
active 'magnetic objects', which takes into account non-
homogeneous domain wall motion and wall-wall correla-
tions [13-15]. In any case, combining excellent orientation
and low lamination thickness with domain refining, excel-
lent loss and permeability figures are obtained. For in-
stance, 50 Hz power losses in high permeability laser
scribed 0.23 mm thick GO laminations can be as low as
~ 0.75 W / k g at 1.7 T peak induction, with B8 = 1.92-
1.93 T [16]. There has been indeed a good research activity
in recent times on thin FeSi sheets, in view of possible
efficient applications up to the kHz range. One chief
problem with reduced thickness is that the hot rolling
conditions leading to optimal size and density of inhibitors
and homogeneity of the primary recrystallized texture are
more critical. By accurate control of the slab reheating
temperature and soaking time and heavy reduction in the
final cold rolling step, Iwayama et al. have however been
able to develop high permeability 0.18 mm thick lamina-
tions, with Bit = 1.93 T and power losses at 50 I-Iz about
10% reduced with respect to the commercial high perme-
ability 0.23 mm thick sheets [17]. Improved 0.15 mm thick
GO laminations have also been prepared by Perrier et al.,
who show that laminations secondary-recrystallized at the
final thickness exhibit better performances than the classi-
cal relaminated GO materials [18]. Arai and coworkers
have investigated the development of ultra-thin GO alloys
( ~ 10- ~ 100 p.m), obtained by cold rolling and annealing
conventional GO steels [19-21]. In order to achieve a
sharp (110) [001] orientation, they exploit tertiary recrys-
tallization, a process found to occur upon annealing in
vacuum at temperatures higher than 1150C. A surface
energy mechanism is assumed to be responsible for the
selective growth of the (110) planes. The so-obtained
materials exhibit high permeability (B 8 = 1.90 T) and very
low losses, which can be further reduced by domain
refining through surface grooving. For instance, a power
loss figure around 0.40 W / k g at 1.7 T and 50 Hz is
reported for 75 p,m thick sheets, a value more than two
times lower than the one presented by high permeability
standard GO materials. Excellent loss and permeability
behaviors have also been observed by Abe et al. in primary
recrystallized FeSi laminations, obtained from very sharply
oriented (110) [001] 0.20 mm thick strips, reduced to a
thickness of 15-50 Ixm thickness by cold rolling [22].
An alternative route to low loss materials, suitable for
applications in the power and medium frequency range, is
the development of high Si alloys. For a 6.5 wt% Si
concentration, in particular, a combination of lowered ani-
sotropy, increased electrical resistivity and vanishing mag-
netostriction is expectedly conducive to excellent loss be-
havior. Since, however, the conventional rolling process
cannot be carried out on FeSi 6.5 wt% alloys, because B2
429
and DO 3 phase ordering does give rise to extreme mate-
rial brittleness, special preparation processes have been
devised, namely rapid solidification from the melt and
chemical vapour deposition (CVD). By rapid solidification
thin ductile ribbons are obtained, typically 30 to 100 Ixm
thick, that once annealed in vacuum at temperatures of the
order of 1100-1200C, exhibit a well developed random
cubic texture (100) (Ovw), with grain size of the order of
few hundred Ixm [23-26]. A surface energy driven mecha-
nism appears to control the secondary growth of the (100)
planes, which is enhanced in high purity alloys [26] and
provides fairly isotropic magnetic properties in the ribbon
plane [27]. The final recrystallized ribbons generally show
a decreased ductility, depending on the final cooling rate,
still permitting, however, bending over very small diame-
ters (1-2 mm) [28]. Typical 50 Hz power loss figures in
recrystallized FeSi 6.5 wt% ribbons, 30-50 txm thick, are
around 0.4-0.5 W / k g at 1 T peak induction, while corre-
sponding values of 0.3-0.4 W / k g and 0.9-1.1 W / k g are
found in GO alloys and top grade FeSi 3.2 wt% non-ori-
ented (NO) alloys, respectively. At 1 kHz and 1 T the
power loss in the high Si ribbons becomes of the order of
13-15 W/kg, which is lower than the loss value corre-
spondingly found in thinned FeSi GO laminations and
about 2 times higher than the one obtained in amorphous
ribbons. The relative permeability is in the same conditions
higher than 10 4. Very lOW lOSS rapidly quenched FeSi 4.5
wt% sheets have been prepared by Arai et al. [29], who
have been able to develop a sharp (110) [001] texture by
cold rolling as-quenched 0.280 mm thick ribbons to a final
80 pore thickness and annealing in vacuum at 1040C. The
so obtained alloys are reported to have a power loss of
0.69 W / k g at 50 Hz and 1.7 T peak induction.
FeSi 6.5 wt% laminations can be obtained by means of
chemical vapour deposition, a process by which conven-
tional NO and GO alloys are Si enriched exploiting a high
temperature chemical reaction between the lamination sur-
face and a Si donor compound. Following early experi-
ments by Houze et al. [30], a SiC14 based CVD process,
now developed on industrial scale, has been successfully
applied by Takada et al. for Si enrichment of NO lamina-
tions, 0.10 to 0.50 mm thick [31,32]. CVD siliconization of
pure Fe strips by pack cementation, using NH4F as a
reacting agent, has also been proposed [33]. A good work-
ability of the so-produced alloys has been claimed, with
the 0.10 mm thick laminations capable of withstanding a
bending radius of 2 mm [32]. The CVD treated FeSi 6.5
wt% NO alloys exhibit very low magnetostriction and
noise, with losses reduced with respect to conventional GO
alloys at frequencies above few hundred Hz. Ninomiya et
al. have measured and compared noise and losses in model
1 kH z transformers, made with 0.35 mm thick FeSi 6.5
wt% and conventional GO laminations, respectively [34].
They find, depending on working induction, a noise reduc-
tion of 15-25 dB and a loss reduction factor around two in
the high Si lamination transformer. Crottier-Combe et al.
430 F; Fiorillo / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 157 / 158 (1996) 428-431
100 . . . . , . . . . , . . . . i . . . .
beforeCVD . . ~
FeSiGO ~ J
S 80. Ip= 1.IT ~ ~ pie/f
oto 40- afterCVD ' ........
tlJ
0 intensity and phase of the third harmonic of induction in a
Frequency(Hz)
Fig. 1. Energy loss per cycle in conventional GO laminations
before (open dots) and after (full dots) 6.2 wt% Si enrichment by
CVD. The hysteresis ( P h / f ) , classical ( P e l f ) and excess
( P e / f ) loss components are put in evidence. Notice that all of
them are decreased inthe high. Si alloy,
have investigated the magnetic properties of SiC14 treated
FeSi 6.5 wt% GO strips [35]. The three loss components
(hysteresis, excess, .andclassical loss) are all found to
decrease Upon the Si enrichment, as put in evidence by the
loss separation curves shown in Fig. 1. This appears to .be
due, besides the variation of the intrinsic physical parame-
ters, to the modifications of the domain structure and its
evolution with the applied field, mainly ensuing from the
strong reduction ,of the magnetoelastic energy with Si
concentration around 6.5 wt%.
3. Highlights on loss modelling advances
The formulation of the statistical theory of magnetic
losses, based ~on the concept of 'loss separation and its
physical interpretation, has provided solid background for
the quantitative Understanding of the relationship between
the intrinsic and structural material parameters and the
energy dissipation and has brought to light novel ap-
proaches to loss calculations in actual magnetic cores
[13,14]. An important outcome of such a theory has in fact
regarded the prediction :of iron losses under complex excit-
ing conditions, , l i k e non-si~nusoidal 4nduction waveform
an'd two-dimensional7 fields, similar to the ones observed in
the FeSi magnetic cores of electrical~tuachines [36,37]. The
approach to generalized loss prediction basically relies on
the; quantitative desrription' of the excess' loss component
under generic induction waveform. ~rfhe starting point is
the definition of the:instantaneous excess loss Pe(t), as-
Sumed to be proportional tO /)(t) 3/2, being /~(t),the time
derivative o f the magnetic induction [36]. This assumption
permits,one to provide a.comptete expression for the total
power loss '~ P = P ~ + Pe + Pc under generic induction
i
waveshape, taking into account that the classical compo-
nent P~ is easily calculated by summing up the contribu-
tions of the individual harmonics of /~(t) and the hystere-
sis loss Ph is independent of the induction waveform.
Such an expression can be directly applied through prior
knowledge of a minimum amount of standard data; namely
two total loss values obtained at two different frequencies
under sinusoidal induction [36]. Several applications have
been performed of this loss approach, which could not
satisfactorily be carried out by previous standard methods.
Fig. 2 provides, for an induction waveshape made of
fundamental plus third harmonic, an example of the exper-
imental dependence of 50 Hz power losses at 1.5 T on the
NO FeSiA1 lamination (points), compared with the theoret-
ical prediction (continuous line). The discrepancy between
experiments and the old standard prediction (dashed lines)
is apparent. Interesting developments of this approach in
NO and GO FeSi sheets, concerning trapezoidal induction
[38] and PWM voltage [39], have been reported. It is
shown in these studies that, in spite of the complexity of
the harmonic spectrum, a very simple expression for the
total loss, involving the two previous standard experimen-
tal quantities and the voltage pulses rise time, can be
worked out. Sometimes, however, the evolution of the
hysteresis lo0p shape with frequency and distortion might
be required. In this case the novel concept of Dynamic
Preisach Modelling can be usefully applied [40]. The price
to pay for the correspondingly greater amount of provided
information is the necessity of making a pretty high num-
Pd(Wlkg) ] j" I
1.1
/ f
./
,9 // //.1
//// o //- / /o
.7
/ ..,,f
.5'
. . . . . if -~
o .1 .2 .3 0 .3
I
1.1
N.O. FeS iAI
5 0 Hz
.9 1.5 T
///
.7.
30 ~ . 180
.5 ~
0 .3 0 B31B 1 .3
Fig. 2. 50 Hz dynamic power losses in a 0.20 mm thick NO
lamination measured under distorted induction waveform of peak
value 1.5 T, made of fundamental plus third harmonic. B3 / B r
represents the harmonic intensity ratio and' q~3 the related phase
shift. Points: experiments. Continuous line: improved theory.
Dashed line: standard theoretical approach.
 F. Fiorillo/ Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 157/158 (1996) 428-431
ber of static measurements, in order to efficiently carry out
the identification of the Preisach distribution function.
The theoretical developments now discussed can be
further generalised to the case where, as in the iron cores
of the rotating machines, the magnetic flux has a bidimen-
sional character (elliptical flux locus) [37]. The limitation
here provided is t h a t the material must b e isotropic, as is
usual the case in motors and generators, while the addi-
tionally required information regards the knowledge of the
loss components under pure rotational flux. As in the
alternating case, the determination of the total rotational
loss Pr at two frequencies will suffice to provide, for a
given peak induction, a complete rotational loss separation
[41]. A direct relationship can then be traced between the
rotational and alternating loss components through their
ratios r~, r e, r c, which are independent on frequency and
whose dependence on peak induction must be found by
experiments. As discussed in Ref. [37], it is then possible
to formulate three separate expressions for.the hysteresis,
excess and c l a s s i c a l losses under elliptical flux locus,
which involve the same quantities under alternating sinu-
soidal flux Ph, Pe and Pc, the ratios rh, re and r c and the
ellipse axis ratio c. The special case where the two flux
components are distorted can eventually be accounted for,
at least within a certain degree of approximation, by
introducing in such expressions the previously discussed
formulations for P~ and Pc under non-sinusoidal induction
(the hysteresis loss 'Ph being unaffected b y flux distortion).
4. Conclusions
Progress in FeSi continues to be made today, nearly a
century after the early developments by Hadfield. FeSi
alloys are indeed so pervasively applied and handle so
huge amounts of energy that any minute improvement of
their physical behavior can have a substantial impact on
applications. Some recent advances have focussed on the
role of crystallographic texture, lamination thickness, high
Si concentration and artificial control Of the domain struc-
ture. But the search for better magnetic properties must be
associated with better understanding of the material behav-
ior in actual machine cores. Improved physically based
loss and hysteresis loop models, aimed at bridging the gap
existing between conventional magnetic qualification
methods and reliable predictions of the alloy performances
in applications, are being developed and will expectedly
enhance the role of materials properties in the machine
design.
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