Investigation of the influence of different cutting procedures on the global and local magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel

The process of manufacturing iron cores for electric machines out of electrical steel sheets can strongly affect the magnetic properties of the material. In order to better understand the influence of cutting on the iron losses, a characterization of the magnetization behavior near the cutting edge is needed. The local magnetic properties of the material are modified by the cutting process which leads to an increase in the iron losses measured for 5 mm wide ring core samples by nearly 160% at low inductions. We present investigations on the effect of cutting by observation of the magnetic domain structure of 0.35 mm thick non-oriented electrical steel. By using the magneto-optical Kerr-effect on a ring samples the local magnetic properties of the material after processing are characterized in the form of domain wall displacements under an applied external ac-field. The influence of various cutting techniques on the magnetic properties was studied before and after stress relief annealing. This method allows a quantitative analysis of the influence of different cutting techniques on the micro-magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel for rotating machines. - Highlights: • The influence of cutting on the magnetic properties of electrical steel was studied. • The magnetic behavior at the cut edge was investigated using the Kerr-effect. • The micro-magnetic results correlate well with the integral magnetic measurements. • Stress relief annealing recovers the magnetic properties of the cut material. • The method allows quantitative determination of the extension of the affected zone