Reduction of core loss in non-oriented (NO) electrical steel by electroless-plated magnetic coating

An important issue in development of electrical steels for core-laminated products is to reduce core loss to improve energy conversion efficiency. This is usually obtained by tailoring the composition, microstructure, and texture of electrical steels themselves. A new technique to reduce core loss in electrical steel has been investigated. This technique involves electroless plating of magnetic thin coating onto the surface of electrical steel. The material system was electroless Ni-Co-P coatings with different thicknesses (1,5, and 10 mu m) deposited onto the surface of commercially available Fe-3% Si electrical steel. Characterization of deposited Ni-Co-P coating was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer. The deposited Ni-Co-P coatings were amorphous and composed of 56-59% Ni, 32-35% Co, and 8-10% P by mass. The effect of coatings on core loss of the electrical steel was determined using single sheet test. A core loss reduction of 4% maximum was achieved with the Ni-Co-P coating of 1 mu m thickness at 400 Hz and 0.3T.