Difference between electrical steel and silicon steel sheets

There are obvious differences between electrical steel and silicon steel sheets in terms of definition, composition, magnetic properties, processing technology and application areas.

Definition and ingredients

‌Electrical steel‌: Electrical steel is a silicon-iron soft magnetic alloy with extremely low carbon content. Its main components include iron and silicon. Depending on the silicon content, electrical steel can be divided into two types: low silicon and high silicon. Low silicon wafers are used to manufacture motors, while high silicon wafers are used to manufacture transformers. ‌

‌Silicon steel sheet‌: Silicon steel sheet, also known as cold-rolled non-oriented silicon steel sheet, is a special cold-rolled steel sheet made by cold rolling process, and is often used to make the iron core of electric motors and transformers. ‌

Magnetic properties

‌Electrical steel‌: The magnetic properties of electrical steel depend on its composition. Different types of electrical steel have different performances in terms of magnetic permeability, saturation magnetic field strength, etc. High-silicon electrical steel has better magnetic properties, but is more brittle; low-silicon electrical steel has stronger mechanical strength. ‌

‌Silicon steel sheet‌: The silicon content of silicon steel sheet is high, which can effectively reduce the magnetic permeability of the iron core and reduce the energy loss of the iron core. At the same time, the magnetization intensity of silicon steel is low, and it has weak hysteresis and eddy current loss.

Processing technology

‌Electrical Steel‌: The processing technology of electrical steel includes drawing, forging, quenching and other steps. It can be processed and quenched according to different needs to improve its magnetic properties.

Silicon steel sheet: The processing technology of silicon steel sheet is relatively complicated, including smelting, casting, hot rolling, cold rolling, annealing and other processes, with high precision and good surface quality.

Application Areas

‌Electrical Steel‌: Because electrical steel has good mechanical strength and magnetic properties, it is widely used in electronic components, sensors, power tools, welding machines, automotive generators and other fields.

Silicon steel sheets: Silicon steel sheets are mainly used to make the iron cores of electric motors and low-voltage iron cores of transformers. They can reduce energy loss and noise, and improve motor efficiency and production benefits.