Influence of Grain Size and Blanking Clearance on Magnetic Properties Deterioration of Non-Oriented Electrical Steel

In motor manufacturing, blanking process of non-oriented electrical steel inevitably induces plastic deformation and residual stress near the blanked edge and thus leads to the deterioration of magnetic properties. However, as for the newly developed non-oriented electrical steel, the scale of grain size is close to both blanking clearance and thickness. Grain size integrated with blanking clearance thus significantly affects the blanked edge quality. In order to reveal the effects of grain size and blanking clearance on magnetic properties deterioration, systematic blanking tests have been conducted using various non-oriented electrical steel sheets (same chemical composition, three thicknesses, and three grain sizes) in a considered clearance range. The blanked edges are characterized by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and micro-hardness tests. Magnetic domain structures are also observed by magnetic force microscopy. The iron losses are measured by single sheet tester method. The burnished ratio decided by clearance and grain size can be taken as the indicator to assess the deterioration of magnetic properties. The blanked edge with larger burnished ratio leads to lower increase of micro-hardness, less degradation of domain structure, and less deterioration of iron loss. In this paper, about 5.8% iron loss can be reduced by optimization of blanking clearance, which is quite pronounced for energy saving. In further study, an approximate linear function of the ratio of optimum clearance to gain size with
$D^{-1/2}$
is empirically proposed to demonstrate the grain size dependence on optimum clearance determination. This paper thus provides an in-depth understanding and guidance for reducing the deterioration of magnetic properties caused by the blanking process.