The influence of copper on The microTexTure of fe-Si-Al AlloyS for non-orienTed elecTricAl SheeTS

the permeability and the power losses are very important properties of non-oriented electrical sheets. the existence of a crystallographic easy magnetization plane and direction makes the distribution of grain orientations (texture) the most important factor in the improvement of the quality of a soft magnetic material [1]. the optimum texture is a fibre texture in which all the grains have a <100> direction normal to the sheet plane. the ideal texture for non-oriented electrical sheets is {100}<0vw>, because it ensures the presence of the maximum number of easy magnetization planes and the isotropy of the magnetic properties in the plane of the metal sheet [1 3]. the magnetic properties of less well textured non-oriented electrical sheets are not as good as those of grain-oriented sheets with a Goss texture {110}<001>, which makes them better suited for use in rotary magnetic fields [4]. the <100> crystallographic direction is the direction of easiest magnetization, and if the sheet is magnetized in the rolling direction, a very high permeability and a very low coercive force are obtained [4]. For electrical sheets, different methods of texture measurement and presentation are possible. to determine the surface distribution of a smaller area the SeM kikuchi method of electron backscatter diffraction (eBSD) can be used [5]. the back-scattered electrons from the tilted specimen form the kikuchi diffraction patterns, which are then transferred to a screen, digitised and analysed by comparing with low-index kikuchi patterns. eBSD microtexture determination is now a fully automated procedure that can be performed in a scanning electron microscope. the term microtexture integrates both, the crystallographic parameters and other aspects of the microstructure, and it also describes the experimental technique used to determine this information [6].