Some aspects of the magnetomechanical coupling in the strengthening of nonoriented and grain-oriented 3% SiFe alloys

An investigation has been carried out on the effect of plastic strains on the magnetic properties of grain-oriented and nonoriented 3% by weight SiFe alloys. A drastic degradation of these properties with increasing deformations is observed for magnetic field amplitudes ranging between 0 and 2000 A/m. Empirical relationships between plastic strain and magnetic characteristics are obtained. Materials exhibit a Luders strain state under tensile loading in a low plastic deformation range. Meanwhile, the classical Ramberg-Osgood law is verified. The observation of the dislocation features at various plastic strain levels shows three typical configurations: hexagonal cells in the Luders strain state, small tangles and isolated screw dislocations at medium values of strain, and finally high-density tangles at higher deformations. In the same way, the densities of main and secondary magnetic domains follow an evolution in three stages with increasing strains. It is shown that the transverse domain patterns take place to counterbalance the increase of magnetoelastic energy due to the strengthening. The evolution of the coercivity and the initial relative permeability with the strains can be explained using potential model theories for the grain-oriented alloy in the range [2-8]%. Domain wall bowing theories could successfully be applied to both alloys at the ultimate stage of the strengthening. The relationship between the coercivity and the strengthening displays two linear stages for both 3% SiFe alloys instead of the three stages ordinarily reported in the case of polycrystalline high-purity iron.