Magnetic Properties and Domain Structure of Nonoriented Electrical Steel Under Stress

The influence of stresses on the magnetic properties of nonoriented electrical steels was studied. The dependence of iron loss on compressive stress was affected by grain size. The magnetic polarization J in strong magnetic fields such as 5000 and 10,000 A/m increased due to compressive stresses and decreased due to tensile stresses in samples with low Si content. Using Kerr-effect domain observation, it was found that the reduction in J caused by tensile stresses was attributable to residual striped domains. Magnetostriction measurements in strong magnetic fields indicated that the increase in J under compressive stresses originated from the Villari effect (inverse magnetostrictive effect) due to negative magnetostriction in low-Si materials. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 182(4): 10-18, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22320