Silicon steel is also known as electrical steel, laminated steel or transformer steel. It is a ferritic iron alloy of silicon and iron that is used in the manufacture of transformers and electric motors. These steels have a silicon content of 0.5 wt% to 4.5 wt% and a carbon content of less than 0.08%. The addition of silicon (Si) increases the magnetic softness and resistivity of the steel. There are two types of silicon steels available: grain oriented (GO) and non-oriented. GO silicon steels can be further subdivided into conventional (RGO) and high magnetic permeability (HGO) materials. Silicon steel is known for its magnetic permeability, low iron loss and high power generation and distribution capabilities. This allows it to be used in small to large motors and relays as well as solenoids and other electrical equipment.
Silicon steel sheets are used primarily as the core of silicon wafers in transformers and electric motors. As many of you already know, there are many different qualities of silicon steel wafers. What if you choose a low quality silicon steel laminations?
- If the temperature rises too quickly, it can burn out the coil and cause the motor to fail.
- The efficiency of the wafers and coils is reduced. However, high quality silicon wafers have higher efficiency and better results.
- Iron loss, low quality silicon steel sheet increases resistance, reduces service life and increases core loss.
The most common transformer cores are made of silicon steel sheets. Silicon steel (also known as silicon steel) is silicon steel with a silicon content of 0.8 to 4.8%. The cores of transformer cores are made of silicon steel because of its magnetic properties and strong magnetic permeability. It produces high magnetic induction strength, which reduces the size of the transformer.
Transformers operate in AC and power losses are not only due to resistance but also due to AC magnetization. The iron loss is often referred to as the power loss in the core. Iron loss can be caused by two conditions: “hysteresis loss” and “eddy current loss”.
Transformer cores are made of 0.5mm or 0.35mm thick cold rolled silicon steel sheets. The core is cut into strips according to the size of the core. Then, the strips are overlapped into “sky” and “mouth” shapes. Theoretically, the thinner the silicon steel sheet to reduce eddy currents, the better the results. This reduces the temperature rise and reduces eddy current losses.