Effect of Planar Flow Melt Spinning Parameters on Ribbon Formation in Soft Magnetic Fe68.5Si18.5B9Nb3Cu1 Alloy

The effect of planar flow melt spinning (PFMS) parameters on the continuity, surface quality, and structure of 10-mm-wide Fe68.5Si18.5B9Nb3Cu1 ribbons has been investigated. The change in shape and stability of the melt puddle as a function of the processing parameter was studied using a high-speed imaging system and was correlated to ribbon formation. A window of process parameters for obtaining continuous ribbons with good surface quality has been evaluated. It has been observed that thinner ribbons are found to be more continuous because of higher ductility. The higher melt temperature leads to the formation of crystalline phase in as-spun ribbons, and this deteriorates the soft magnetic properties on annealing. The experimental results are corroborated with the numerical estimates, which suggest that the critical thickness for amorphous phase formation decreases with increasing initial melt temperature. DOI: 10.1007/s11663-011-9476-7 (C) The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2011