Effect of High Density Pulsing Current on Mechanical Properties of Fe-6.5wt.%Si Alloy Sheet

Abstract

t is well known that excellent soft magnetic properties are obtained in electrical steel with Si content of 6.5wt.%, such as high permeability, low coercive force, near zero magnetostriction, etc. However due to its poor ambient temperature ductility it is very hard to fabricate this material by conventional hot-cold rolling process. Meanwhile, high-density electropulsing treatment (EPT) attracts widespread applications as a new heat treatment approach. In this paper, heat treatment effect of high-density pulsing current on microstructure, micro-hardness and mechanical properties of as rolled Fe-6.5wt.%Si alloy sheet were investigated. The results showed that the microstructure and mechanical properties were closely related to the parameters of the pulses. Refined and uniform recrystallized grains were obtained by optimizing parameters of the high density pulses. Compared with the conventional heat treatment method, the time and temperature for heat treatment can be reduced dramatically. Therefore, it is considered that EPT is an efficient heat treatment approach for this rolled sheet. Mechanism of the effect of high-density pulsing current has been discussed also in this investigation.