Interrelation of mechanical properties and magneto-mechanical coupling of non-oriented electrical steel

The magnetic properties of non-oriented iron-silicon electrical steel grades are generally the target properties for their application in commercial speed-variable electric drives. Due to high rotor speed and the resulting mechanical stress, a compromise between magnetic properties and mechanical strength with respect to the dimensions of the rotor topologies has to be found during the design of the electrical motor. What is typically neglected in this consideration is the magneto-elastic coupling, i.e., the change of magnetic properties as a result of induced mechanical stress. In this paper, general interdependencies between the magnetic and mechanical properties with the magneto-elastic sensitivity of seven industrial iron-silicon electrical steel grades is studied in order to improve the best possible material choice speed-variable drives with a high power density.