Silicon steel sheet is an alloy, and iron-silicon alloy formed by adding a small amount of silicon (generally below 4.5%) to pure iron is called silicon steel. This type of core has the highest saturation magnetic induction value of 20000Gs; because of their good magnetoelectric properties, it is easy to mass-produce, the price is cheap, and the mechanical stress has little effect, and it is widely used in the power electronics industry. Such as power transformers, distribution transformers, current transformers and other iron cores. It is the most productive and used material in soft magnetic materials. It is also the most used material in magnetic materials for power transformers. Especially suitable for low frequency and high power. Commonly used are cold-rolled silicon steel sheet DG3, cold-rolled non-oriented electrical steel tape DW, cold-rolled oriented electrical steel tape DQ, suitable for all kinds of electronic systems, household appliances, medium and small power low frequency transformers and chokes, reactors , Inductor cores, these alloys have good toughness, can be punched, cut, and other processing, core lamination and winding type. However, the loss increases sharply at high frequencies, and the general frequency of use does not exceed 400 Hz.
From an application perspective, the choice of silicon steel must consider two factors: magnetics and cost. For small motors, reactors and relays, pure iron or low-silicon steel sheets are available; for large motors, high-silicon hot-rolled silicon steel sheets, single-oriented or non-oriented cold-rolled silicon steel sheets are available; single-oriented cold-rolled silicon steel is often used for transformers. sheet. When used at industrial frequency (50Hz), the thickness of the commonly used strip is 0.2~0.35mm; when used at 400Hz, it is appropriate to choose 0.1mm thickness. The thinner the thickness, the higher the price.
Reduced Iron Loss (Hysteresis Loss + Eddy Current Loss):
Silicon increases the steel’s electrical resistivity, which minimizes eddy currents (induced currents) generated by electromagnetic induction—directly lowering "eddy current loss." Additionally, silicon refines the steel’s grain structure, reducing energy consumption when magnetic domains shift (a phenomenon called "hysteresis loss"). Iron loss is the most critical quality metric for silicon steel: the lower the iron loss, the more energy-efficient the final electromagnetic device (e.g., transformers or motors).
