Soft magnetic material

Abstract

This chapter analyses the properties and applications of soft magnetic materials and discusses the emergence of electrical steels and their various electrical engineering implementations. The authors discuss the fundamental properties of soft magnetic materials that are important to their functionality in engineering applications. These include saturation magnetisation, coercivity, permeability and energy losses. The development of new soft magnetic alloys requires a systematic search of countless possible alloying elements, now possible due to developments in rapid alloy processing, and a means of determining the magnetic potential of the most promising compositions. The largest single application of soft magnetic materials is found in power conversion equipment where energy is transmitted via magnetic flux. The authors finally discuss the global impact of the energy wastage in electrical steels which highlights the need for further development to further enhance the efficiency and ultimately continue to reduce these losses.