Excellent soft magnetic Fe-based nanocrystalline bulk toroidal cores via one-step low-heating-rate annealing
摘要
Soft magnetic materials are critical for bulk/large cores in transformers and motors, and yet achieving uniform properties in industrial-scale devices remains challenging. This study develops a one-step, low heating rate annealing process to achieve uniform fine α-Fe nanocrystallization (grain size < 20 nm) across the entire volume of Fe81.5Si0.5B4.5P11Cu0.5C2 bulk toroidal cores. The proposed process effectively eliminates microstructural heterogeneity induced by crystallization dynamics and temperature gradients. At the same time, it achieves a high magnetic flux density (B80) of ∼169 emu/g, low coercivity of ∼5.4 A/m, and low core loss of W1.0/50 = 0.12 W/kg and W1.5/50 = 0.31 W/kg. The permeability remains constant at a value greater than 4.5×103 up to a frequency of 4×104 Hz. This research provides a scalable solution for the industrial-scale production of high-performance nanocrystalline magnetic cores, advancing the development of next-generation power electronic devices.