India’s ARCI reports novel metallurgical process for Fe-P-based soft magnetic alloys
August 12, 2020
Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), India, have developed a novel metallurgical process schedule to realise Fe-P based soft magnetic alloys, according to a post by Venkatraman Venkitachalam, founder chairman, The EvXprts Foundation, on LinkedIn.
The wrought Fe-P alloys are said to have higher magnetisation and lower coercivity than the expensive non-oriented Si-steel available in the market. The process developed by ARCI involves controlled heat treatment through the phase-field, which reportedly results in the formation of nanoscale Fe3P precipitates of suitable size and distribution.
Prototypes are said to have been tested under laboratory conditions using the Fe-P alloy with promising results, and field trials are expected shortly. For the Indian automotive market, the availability of a domestically-developed and produced soft magnetic material could save on foreign exchange costs and strengthen the supply chain.
According to Venkitachalam, the newly-developed magnetic material could prove to be crucial for EV motors.
