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Electrotechnical anisotropic steel. Part 1. History of development

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Metal Science and Heat Treatment, Vol. 53, Nos. 7 – 8, November, 2011 (Russian Original Nos. 7 – 8, July – August, 2011)

ELECTROTECHNICAL STEELS
UDC 669.14.018.583-176

ELECTROTECHNICAL ANISOTROPIC STEEL.

PART 1. HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

M. L. Lobanov,1 G. M. Rusakov,2 and A. A. Redikul’tsev1

Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 7, pp. 18 – 25, July, 2011.

The history of development of electrotechnical steel is traced from the start of the XX century till today. The
methods of production of such steel and the methods of lowering the specific magnetic loss in ready metal are
reviewed.

Key words: electrotechnical anisotropic steel, texture (110)á001ñ, electromagnetic induction, losses
to magnetization reversal, secondary recrystallization.

INTRODUCTION termines the efficiency of a transformer and its operating

A very important component of the foundation of the
modern dynamically evolving world is electric power. Man-
kind produces electric power, transmits it to great distances,
and then uses in facilities characterized by widely varying
main electric force parameters. The simplest energy-trans-
forming device is a transformer. A transformer is a static
(having no mobile parts) electromagnetic device for trans-
forming a system of alternating current of one voltage into a
system of alternating current of another voltage by means of
electromagnetic induction at an invariable frequency and
without substantial power loss.
A transformer consists of one (autotransformer) or seve-
ral insulated wire windings covered by a common magnetic
flux and commonly wound on a magnetic conductor (core)
fabricated from a ferromagnetic magnetically soft material.
Since this material is mostly responsible for the properties of
the transformer as a whole [1], is should meet rigid operating
conditions, i.e., should be characterized by (1 ) easy magneti-
zation and reversal magnetization (high magnetic permeabil-
ity), (2 ) high magnetic induction, and (3 ) minimum loss to
reversal magnetization. The first two conditions determine
the sizes and the weight of the electric windings and mag-
netic cores. The minimum loss to reversal magnetization de-
1
Ural Federal University in the Name of the First President of Russia
B. N. Eltsyn, Ekaterinburg, Russia (e-mail: redikultsev@mail.ru).
2 At first, sheets of silicon steel were fabricated by many-
Institute for Metals Physics of the Ural Branch of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia.
temperature.
Today the cores and magnetically active parts of various
electrotechnical devices are primarily produced from
electrotechnical anisotropic steel (EAS). The level of its
properties is evaluated in terms of several characteristics the
main of which are the specific magnetic loss P1.7/50 , W/kg
(measured in a field with induction 1.7 T at the field fre-
quency of 50 Hz) and the electromagnetic induction B800 , T
(measured at a fixed value of 800 A/m of the magnetic field
intensity).
HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT AND MODERN
PROCESSES OF PRODUCTION
OF ELECTROTECHNICAL STEEL
Silicon electrotechnical steel has first been obtained in
1900 on the basis of the results of the studies of E. Gumlich
in Germany and W. Barret, W. Brown, and R. Hadfield in
Great Britain [2]. They established that alloying of iron-base
alloys with silicon raised substantially their resistivity and
thus lowered the loss to eddy currents and hysteresis upon re-
versal magnetization. Production of a silicon steel as a mag-
netically soft material was started in Germany in 1903. In the
same year R. Hadfield patented a magnetic composition [3]
and licensed commercial production of a steel bearing
3 wt.% Si was started in the USA in 1906 [4].
pass hot rolling of an ingot to a final size (to about 0.4 mm at

326
0026-0673/11/0708-0326 © 2011 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.
Electrotechnical Anisotropic Steel. Part 1. History of Development
best). The material was called hot-rolled electrotechnical
steel. The properties of such steels were improved primarily
by lowering the concentration of silicon, raising the anneal-
ing temperature, and advancing the melting process [4].
Starting with the time of commercial use of silicon steels
as materials for magnetic cores the history of their develop-
ment was that of lowering the specific magnetic loss. The
best hot-rolled electrotechnical steel with up to 5 wt.% Si
and a thickness of 0.36 mm produced in the early 1900th had
a level of P1.0/60 ~ 2.2 – 4.4 W/kg [5], which corresponds
approximately to P1.7/50 ~ 3.1 – 6.2 W/kg. Such a steel was
coated with a nonwelding layer and annealed in piles at
³ 1100°C for a long time. By 1925 the loss P1.0/60 in hot-
rolled commercial sheet steel has been reduced to about
1.5 W/kg [4] (P1.7/50 ~ 2.1 W/kg). Development of the pro-
cess of cold deformation has lead to replacement of hot-
rolled sheets used in the production of engine magnetic cores
by cold-rolled silicon (dynamo) steel.
In the middle of the 1920th K. Honda and S. Kaya dis-
covered and described the effect of magnetic anisotropy of
iron single crystals, i.e., differences in the intensity of mag-
netization over crystallographic directions and the fact that
line á001ñ is an axis of easy magnetization. This has made it
possible to formulate the basic concept for controlling the
magnetic properties of steel [6].
Under industrial conditions the effect of the anisotropy
was first obtained in the middle of the 1930th by an Ameri-
can engineer N. Goss who advertised a cluster mill for cold
rolling. In the patent of 1934 [7] he suggested a method for
making electrotechnical steel with enhanced anisotropy,
which involved double rolling with intermediate and final
annealing in a pusher furnace. This method for fabricating
cold-rolled textured steel has become a base for all modern
variants of production of electrotechnical anisotropic steels,
the thickness of which was now reduced to 0.18 mm at a
concentration of 3.6 wt.% Si. The name of N. Goss has been
perpetuated in a name of electrotechnical anisotropic steel,
i.e., GOSS: grain-oriented silicon steel.
It is interesting that the physical foundations of fabrica-
tion of steels with high enough magnetic properties by the
method suggested in patent [7] were understood much later
and not completely [8]. In 1935 R. Bozorth discovered in an
x-ray study that the high magnetic properties of steel in the
direction of cold rolling were explainable by the presence of
a favorably oriented texture {110}á001ñ (rib texture, Goss
texture). In 1949 C. Dunn described secondary recrystalli-
zation (anomalous grain growth) as a process responsible for
the development of orientation {110}á001ñ in EAS. Still later
the main conditions for implementing the anomalous grain
growth in the steels were understood as prevention of sec-
ondary recrystallization either due to the presence of parti-
cles of a second (inhibiting) phase or due to formation of a
perfect single-component texture in the primarily recrystal-
lized matrix.
327
Today the inhibiting phases in the production of EAS are
manganese sulfides and selenides MnS and MnSe and alumi-
num nitrides AlN. In the Russian-language literature the pro-
cess of production of EAS is often named according to the
type of the inhibiting phase used (sulfide, sulfonitride, nit-
ride, etc.).
Patent [7] has become a base for a commercial method of
production of EAS developed in the 1940s by the “Armco
Steel Corporation” (USA) (in the Russian-language literature
it is known as the sulfide variant). The patent stipulated final
annealing in a pusher furnace, which resulted in a compara-
tively high specific loss in the steel produced by thus
method. The “Armco Steel Corporation” (today “AK Steel”;
we will use the name “Armco” in what follows) has devel-
oped a process of decarburizing annealing in a medium of
moistened hydrogen for pusher devices. The high-tempera-
ture heat treatment for implementing secondary recrystalliza-
tion and refining of the steel was performed in bell-type fur-
naces with long holds. The high-temperature annealing re-
quired a measure for protecting the metal from welding dur-
ing the heat treatment. Accordingly, a process has been de-
veloped for depositing a heat-resistant coating based on mag-
nesium oxide and obtaining a glass-like protective (ground)
layer during the high-temperature annealing due to interac-
tion between MgO and the surface of the steel oxidized ear-
lier during decarburizing annealing. In fact, the “Armco”
method gave a textured silicon steel in the form of a compos-
ite material with ceramic coating (a ground layer covered
with a layer of salts of orthophosphoric acid (phosphates)),
which was characterized by an electroinsulating effect [4].
The “Armco” technology for making EAS has become a
classical one. After melting and hot rolling it includes the
following sequence of operations (Fig. 1a): annealing of
hot-rolled strip plate in a pusher furnace at a comparatively
low temperature of about 900°C, first cold rolling deforming
to 70 – 75%, recrystallization annealing in a continuous fa-
cility, second cold rolling deforming to 50 – 60%; recrys-
tallization-decarburization annealing in an atmosphere of ni-
trogen and hydrogen (commonly 75% H2 + 25% N2 ) mois-
tened to the dew point temperature of about 65 – 70°C
(%H2O/%H2 ~ 0.4 – 0.45), deposition of a heat-resistant
coating in the form of a MgO suspension, drying of the coat-
ing, long-term high-temperature annealing in an atmosphere
of dry hydrogen, and straightening annealing in a pusher fur-
nace with deposition of an insulating coating and drying of
the coating. A typical chemical composition of EAS melted
by the sulfide variant of inhibition (the “Armco” variant in
the English-language literature) is presented in the table. The
steel produced by the “Armco” variant has rated thickness of
the strip equal to 0.30 mm and is characterized by magnetic
induction B800 ~ 1.80 – 1.84 T and magnetic loss P1.7/50 ~
1.20 – 1.40 W/kg. In the English-language literature the a
EAS with such level of electromagnetic properties is denoted
CGO or GO (conventional textured steel). The macrostruc-
328 M. L. Lobanov et al.

t, °C
à
~ 1400°C HTA
HR ~ 1150 – 1200°C

AHRSP SA
RA DA 100% H2
~ 650°C
~ 950°C

~ 830°C
AlPO4 +
SiO2
1CR 2CR MgO

2.5 mm 0.55 – 0.70 mm 0.23 – 0.35 ìì t

t, °C
b
~ 1400°C HTA
HR ~ 1150 – 1200°C
AHRSP

DA 100% H2
SA
~ 1130°C
~ 2 min ~ 650°C

~ 830°C
AlPO4 +
SiO2
CR MgO 75% H2 – 25% N2

2.2 mm 0.27 – 0.35 mm t

t, °C
c
~ 1250°C HTA ~ 1150 – 1200°C
HR

DA 100% H2
SA

~ 650°C

~ 830°C
AlPO4 +
SiO2
1CR 2CR MgO

2.5 mm 0.55 – 0.80 mm 0.23 – 0.35 mm t

t, °C
d
£ 1200°C HTA
HR ~ 1150 – 1200°C
AHRSP
NG
TCT
DA NH3 SA
100% H2
~ 1130°C
~ 2 min ~ 650°C AlPO4 +
SiO2
CR MgO

2.2 mm 0.27 – 0.35 mm t

Fig. 1. Main variants of production of electrotechnical anisotropic steel: a) sulfide variant; b ) sulfonitride
variant; c) nitride-copper variant; d ) method of acquired inhibitor; HR) hot rolling; AHRSP) annealing of
hot-rolled strip plate; CR) cold rolling; RA) recrystallization annealing (about 900°C, about 5 min, protective
atmosphere); DA) recrystallization-decarburization annealing: a, b, d ) in an atmosphere of 75% H2 + 25% N2
(a, b ) at about 840°C, about 2 min, dew point PD = 65 – 70°C; d ) at about 830°C, about 2 min, DP = 70°C);
c) in an atmosphere of 5% H2 + 95% N2 (at about 830°C, about 5 min, DP = 20 – 25°C); NG) annealing for
normal grain growth (at about 890°C, about 15 sec, DP = 650°C); TCT) thermochemical treatment (nitriding
at 750°C, about 20 sec, 1 – 10% NH3 ); HTA) high-temperature annealing; SA) straightening annealing.

ture of the steel produced by the sulfide variant is compara- The “Armco” sold licenses for the production of EAS by
tively fine-grained (2 – 5 mm, Fig. 2a – c). the sulfide technology to the “Allegheny Ludlum Industries”
Electrotechnical Anisotropic Steel. Part 1. History of Development 329

à 1 ñm b 1 ñm

c 1 ñm d 1 ñm
Fig. 2. Macrostructure of electrotechnical anisotropic
steel obtained by different variants of production pro-
cess (all the specimens have a thickness of 0.30 mm):
a) sulfide variant: B800 = 1.82 T, P1.7/50 = 1.32 W/kg
(ChMZ-VIZ, Russia); b ) sulfide variant: B800 = 1.83 T,
P1.7/50 = 1.24 W/kg (Armco, USA); c) sulfide variant:
B800 = 1.85 T, P1.7/50 = 1.16 W/kg (WISCO, China); e 1 ñm f 1 ñm
d ) sulfide-nitride variant: B800 = 1.92 T, P1.7/50 =
1.03 W/kg (NSC, Japan); e) Kawasaki variant: B800 =
1.87 T, P1.7/50 = 1.05 W/kg (Kawasaki, Japan); f ) ni-
tride-copper variant: B800 = 1.90 T, P1.7/50 =
1.12 W/kg (NLMK-VIZ, Russia); g ) nitride variant:
B800 = 1.80 T, P1.7/50 = 1.43 W/kg (Valcovny Plechy,
Czech Rep.); h ) variant of acquired inhibitor: B800 =
g 1 ñm h 1 ñm
1.92 T, P1.7/50 = 1.03 W/kg (NSC, Japan).

(USA) in 1950 and to the “US Steel” (USA) in 1953. Starting
with 1952 “Armco” traded licenses for the production of
both hot-rolled and cold-rolled steels to other countries [4].
In the start of the 1970s 80% of cold-rolled EAS was pro-
duced by licenses of “Armco.” The other 20% of EAS was
also manufactured by methods with parameters and sequence
of operations close to those of the sulfide process [4].
In the 1950s “Armco” advanced its method for making
EAS markedly and in the next decade the progressively im-
proved properties of the metal stabilized. The production of
such steels attained a level when further improvement of the
technology became impossible [4].
A new process for manufacturing EAS was developed in
the 1960s by S. Taguchi at the “Sin Nippon Seitetsu” Com-
pany (later the “Nippon Steel Corporation”) [4, 9]. The pat-
ents of S. Taguchi and A. Sakakura (1964) [10] and of
S. Taguchi, A. Sakakura and H. Takashima (1966) [11] seem
to be the main works presenting the new process. The au-
thors were the first to increase considerably the volume frac-
tion and the fineness of the inhibiting phase by raising the
content of acid-soluble aluminum and introducing high-tem-
perature annealing of hot-rolled strip plate before forced cold
reduction.
In the patents of the 1970s these directions were ad-
vanced further [12 – 14]. The scheme of production of EAS
obtained as a result yielded steels with high degree of perfec-
tion of crystallographic texture (Fig. 1b ).
The “NSC” started commercial production of EAS with
high magnetic induction (grade HI-B) in 1968. In the Rus-
sian-language literature this process is known as a sulfo-
nitride variant of production of EAS. The inhibiting phases
here are AlN and MnS. The molten steel is characterized by
an elevated content of carbon and aluminum (as compared to
the steel produced by the sulfide variant) (see Table 1). The

TABLE 1. Typical Chemical Composition (after Melting) of Electrotechnical Anisotropic Steel Produced by the Main Production Variants
Content of elements, wt.%
Variant (inhibiting phase)
C Si Mn S Al N Cu
“Armco” – sulfide (MnS) 0.020 – 0.030 2.9 – 3.2 0.065 – 0.075 0.020 – 0.028 < 0.005 < 0.004 < 0.2
“NSC” – sulfonitride (MnS and AlN) 0.045 – 0.060 2.9 – 3.2 0.06 – 0.09 0.020 – 0.028 0.025 – 0.032 0.007 – 0.013 < 0.2
“NLMK” – nitride-copper (AlN) 0.025 – 0.040 2.9 – 3.2 0.1 – 0.3 < 0.01 0.012 – 0.018 0.008 – 0.013 0.40 – 0.60
330
EAS produced by this method have magnetic induction B800
~ 1.90 – 1.94 T, which is the highest for silicon steels and is a
result of formation of a high amount of a highly dispersed in-
hibiting phase in the heat treatment process and of a power-
ful force action of single rolling (degree of deformation 80%,
optimum degree 87%) on the texture of the steel. The mag-
netic loss P1.7/50 in this steel is the lowest (0.95 – 1.10 W/kg
for a thickness of 0.30 mm). The grain size is 8 – 25 mm and
the macrostructure is characterized by quite irregular grain
boundaries (Fig. 2d ).
A principally important operation in this method is the
short-term annealing of strip plate after hot rolling in a con-
tinuous facility at ~ 1120 – 1150°C with strictly controlled
mode of cooling. Licenses for making steels of class HI-B
have been acquired by “Armco” in 1971, by the German
“ThyssenKrupp Electrical Steel EBG GmbH” (“EBG,” to be
termed “Thyssen” in what follows) in 1972, by French and
Belgian companies in 1974, and by the “British Steel Corpo-
ration” (Great Britain) in 1975 [4].
In 1973 the “Kawasaki Steel Corporation” of Japan
(“KSC,” today the “JFE Steel Corporation” to be termed
“Kawasaki” in what follows) patented and in 1974 imple-
mented a method for making EAS of grade RGH with high
induction [15, 16]. In fact, this variant is a development of
the sulfide method. The sequence of production operations is
the same as in the “Armco” except for some principal differ-
ences. During melting the metal is enriched with selenium
and antimony (that seem to form an additional inhibiting
phase in the form of particles of MnSe and Sb); the slabs are
heated to a lower temperature before hot rolling. The rolling
mode is more strict, the deformation in the second cold roll-
ing is higher (over 60%), and the high-temperature annealing
is performed with several isothermal holds in the range of the
temperatures of secondary recrystallization. The EAS has
magnetic induction B800 ³ 1.87 T and magnetic loss P1.7/50 ~
1.00 – 1.10 W/kg (for a trip 0.30 mm thick); the quality of
the insulating coating is the highest. The macrostructure of
the EAS is comparatively fine-grained; the size of the crys-
tallites does not exceed 6 mm on the average (Fig. 2e ).
A license for making EAS by the “Kawasaki” method
was sold in 1974 to the “Surahammars Bruk” (Sweden). The
strict requirements on the parameters of the process opera-
tions prevented wide propagation of the method in the world
practice of production of EAS despite the high properties of
the ready steel. Today the selenium-antimony variant is em-
ployed only by the Kawasaki Corporation.
Until the 1990s most works concerning the production of
EAS were classified due to the confrontation of the two
world economic systems. For this reason, virtually any for-
eign review on the topic of EAS [16, 17] mentioned only
three variants of the production process (“Armco,” “NSC,”
and “Kawasaki”). At the same time, the Novolipetsk Metal-
lurgical Plant (NLMK) in the Soviet Union developed its
own process for manufacturing EAS, which differed substan-
M. L. Lobanov et al.
tially from the foreign counterparts in the parameters of the
operations [18].
A substantial advantage of the Russian process of mak-
ing EAS was a lower temperature of heating of the steel be-
fore hot rolling (about 1240 – 1280°C against 1380 –
1420°C). The possibility of comparatively low-temperature
heating (typical for carbon steels) was a consequence of the
use of aluminum nitrides as inhibiting phases in secondary
recrystallization. The content of aluminum for melting EAS
(0.01 – 0.02 wt.%) was substantially lower than in the sul-
fide variant (see the table), which made it possible to dis-
solve large particles segregated during crystallization of the
metal at a significantly lower temperature. Another differ-
ence of the Russian process from foreign ones was
recrystallization-decarburization annealing and double roll-
ing at an intermediate thickness. Such annealing was per-
formed not in a gas consisting of products of ammonia disso-
ciation (25% N2 + 75% H2 ) and steam (about 30 – 35%
H2O) but rather in a low-hydrogen (95% N2 + 5% H2 ) moist-
ened (about 2.0 – 2.5% H2O) atmosphere. Decarburization at
an intermediate thickness replaced the little-efficient “black”
annealing of hot-rolled strip plate performed in ball furnaces
in order to lower the carbon content in the steel [19]. The
Russian variant was also characterized by absence of recrys-
tallization heat treatment in a pusher furnace before the
high-temperature annealing. As a result, the EAS deformed
by the second cold rolling passed the stage of primary recrys-
tallization in the process of high-temperature annealing in a
bell furnace at a superlow heating rate, which later promoted
formation of a more perfect rib texture in secondary
recrystallization and thus improved the magnetic properties
of the ready steel.
In the beginning of the 1980s the magnetic properties of
the EAS produced by the Russian technology were improved
substantially by introduction of 0.4 – 0.6 wt.% Cu into the
metal during melting [20]. The idea to use copper for melting
EAS belongs to an American researcher F. Malagari (“Alle-
gheny Lindlum Industries”) [21]. Today it is recommended
(or permitted) to add up to 0.2 wt.% Cu to for any variant of
melting EAS. However, it should be noted that considerable
improvement of magnetic properties has been attained only
in the EAS produced by the Russian method.
The succession of the main operations after hot rolling
for the nitride-copper process of EAC production is pre-
sented in Fig. 1c. Today the steel obtained by this method has
magnetic induction B800 ~ 1.85 – 1.89 T and specific loss
P1.7/50 ~ 1.10 – 1.25 W/kg (for a thickness of 30 mm). The
macrostructure of such steel is characterized by the largest
grain size (10 – 40 mm, Fig. 2f ).
Historically, Russian metallurgists were obviously the
first to develop this method of manufacturing EAS. How-
ever, this is voidable within the international legislation. The
“Rosco” Company of South Korea has patented [22] in the
1990s and installed the method first at its own plant and then
at the Polish “Stalproduct.”
Electrotechnical Anisotropic Steel. Part 1. History of Development
It should also be noted that the nitride-copper method of
EAS production was first mentioned in [8] as a process most
popular in Russia and yielding EAS with enhanced magnetic
permeability but inferior in its characteristics to the steels of
class HI-B.
Speaking of the main methods of production of EAS we
should also mention the rarely used nitride variant. This pro-
cess involved melting of metal with chemical composition
close to that of the steel of the nitride-copper variant but
without copper. The subsequent treatment was performed by
the “Armco” scheme. The properties of the steel obtained by
the method were comparatively low, i.e., B800 ~ 1.78 – 1.81 T,
P1.7/50 ~ 1.30 – 1.50 W/kg (for a thickness of 0.30 mm),
which explains is limited use. It has been used by such EAS
producers as the “Valcovly Plechu” (Czech Republic) [23]
and the “Acciai Speciali Terni S.p.A. (“AST” or “Terni,”
(Italy) and is known as a “low-temperature sulfonitride vari-
ant.” The advantage of the method (as well as of the ni-
tride-copper one) was the comparatively low heating temper-
ature of slabs before hot rolling (about 1240 – 1260°C). The
grain size in the ready steel was 5 – 10 mm (Fig. 2h ). Today
the method of production of EAS is not employed at all.
Until the 1990s the world practice knew only five men-
tioned variants of EAS production in which the inhibiting
phase required for the occurrence of secondary recrystalli-
zation was determined by the chemical composition of the
steel. Japanese specialists suggested to combine these vari-
ants into one common method for making EAS, i.e., a
“method of inherent inhibitor” [17], which had two substan-
tial drawbacks, namely, (1 ) the formation of a highly dis-
persed inhibiting phase required long-term holding of slabs
before hot rolling at a high temperature and cooling by a
strictly controlled law after that (this requires special equip-
ment and is expensive) and (2 ) the need for subsequent heat
treatment in order to avoid coarsening of the inhibitor par-
ticles.
These disadvantages explain the attempts to develop a
novel technology for introducing a controlled content of ni-
trogen into the steel before the final annealing in order to
form an inhibiting phase in the process of high-temperature
annealing. Japanese scientists have suggested to combine
such production schemes into a “method of acquired inhibi-
tor” [17].
We should note that such studies are not quite novel.
Works devoted to formation of inhibiting phases in EAS by
thermochemical treatment appeared in the 1960s. For exam-
ple, in 1967 B. K. Sokolov, V. D. Sadovskii, and V. V. Guber-
natorov with coauthors from the Institute of Metals Physics
of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR developed a
method for fabricating textured strip from iron-silicon alloys,
which included rolling and heat treatment at high rates of
heating and cooling [24, 25]. A distinguishing feature of the
method was an additional stabilizing annealing operation at
600°C in a saltpeter bath in order to promote secondary
recrystallization responsible for the texture.
331
In the 1970s Japanese researchers published a patent for
a method of production of EAS with high magnetic induction
[26]. It consisted in forming an extra amount of nitrides in
addition to the already present MnS and AlN in the stages
preceding the high-temperature annealing (due to a treatment
in an NH3 or N2 atmosphere).
In 1989 the “NSC” worked on the task of creation of a
process for producing EAS using nitriding of steel at the fi-
nal thickness. According to the data of [27 – 30] the succes-
sion of operations in the production of EAS by the method of
acquired inhibitor is as follows: (1 ) melting of a metal bear-
ing about 3 wt.% Si, about 0.04 – 0.06 wt.% C, and about
0.020 – 0.03 wt.% Al, (2 ) hot rolling with preliminary heat-
ing of slabs to a temperature of at most 1200°C, (3 ) short-
term annealing of the hot-rolled products in a pusher furnace
at about 1300°C with strictly controlled cooling, (4 ) cold
rolling for the final thickness with deformation of at least
80% (the optimum value is 87 – 88%), (5 ) recrystallization-
decarburization annealing in a pusher furnace in a mode sim-
ilar to that used in the sulfonitride process, (6 ) nitriding in a
pusher furnace at 700 – 850°C for several seconds in a nitro-
gen-hydrogen mixture containing from 0.1 to 10 vol.% am-
monia (NH3 ) (the nitrogen concentration in the metal should
be no less than 0.015 wt.%), (7 ) high-temperature annealing
with controlled feeding of nitrogen in its different stages, (8 )
straightening annealing with deposition of an electroinsu-
lating coating. The thermochemical treatment in a pusher
furnace may be replaced by nitriding of the steel during
high-temperature annealing by the atmosphere of the coil
spacing due to dissociation of nitrogen-bearing additives (ni-
trides of transition metals) added earlier into the heat-resis-
tant coating (MgO).
The advantages of the process of acquired inhibitor are
comparative simplicity, efficiency, products with high mag-
netic properties, and possibility of production of superthin
sheets (up to 0.15 mm). A disadvantage is the use of ammo-
nia, which threatens the ecological safety of the environ-
ment, in the production process.
In 1997 the “NSC” fully transferred the “Yawata” Plant
to manufacturing EAS by the method of acquired inhibitor.
The quality of the steel produced meets the HI-B class, i.e.,
the level of magnetic properties of the steels produced by the
sulfonitride variant. The macrostructure of the “Yawata”
metal corresponds virtually fully to that of the metal pro-
duced by the sulfonitride variant (Fig. 2i ).
Most producers of EAS treat the method of acquired in-
hibitor not as a principally new production process but as an
evolution of the sulfonitride process, which is fact consists of
the same set of operations. For this reason many producers
perform individual studies on the use of thermochemical
treatment in the production of EAS and install the results at
their plants without buying patents or licenses from the
“NSC.” Judging by the time of the appearance of some pat-
ents and conference reports [31 – 33] we may conclude that
electrotechnical anisotropic steels have been produced with
the use of nitriding since 2008 at a commercial or pilot scale
332
by the “Posco,” “WISCO” (PRC), “Baoshan Iron & Steel”
(PRC), and “Thyssen.”
The work has been performed within the framework of
programs of the Russian Academy of Sciences (topic “Struc-
ture”) and the Federal Purpose Program of the Ministry of
Education and Science of the Russian Federation (State Con-
tract 02.740.11.0537).
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