The effects of Se in AlN-inhibited permeability 3% SiFe

One of the techniques for producing highly textured 3% SiFe involves the use of AlN precipitates for the stabilization of primary grains during the process of secondary recrystallization; however, the presence of S (presumably as MnS) was also found necessary. Because of the chemical similarity between S and Se, an investigation was made to determine if Se could be used in addition to or as a substitute for S. A number of laboratory melts were made containing various amounts of S and Se, and these heats were processed to yield oriented steels with . The following polynomial equation was used to approximate the true relationships of the studied variables on the response variable (magnetic permeability) : where the Xi, etc., are the alloying variables that are considered important in the secondary recrystallization process, e.g., S, Se and Mn, and is an error term. This relationship defines a response surface of permeability as a function of alloying additions. Constant permeability contours are used to show that Se may be considered a good replacement for S, but only if very little S is present, suggesting a deleterious interaction between Mn, S, and Se. Precipitates of Mn (S, Se) were found in the primary recrystallized matrix.