Effect of Tension and Compression Stress on the Magnetic Losses in a Low-Carbon Steel

This work is an experimental study of the evolution of magnetic losses in DC-04 steel under static mechanical stress. The material was subjected, in the elastic regime, to uniaxial stress at levels from -90 MPa to 90 MPa, and the evolution of magnetic losses, from quasi-static regime to 300 Hz (under controlled sinusoidal magnetic induction), was monitored. The analysis of the experimental results (remanent induction, coercive field, different component of losses) shows the non-trivial dependency of the stress-loss relationship to frequency. A loss separation analysis was performed to interpret the results. Considering the skin effect and its evolution with stress, hysteresis, eddy current, and anomalous losses are analyzed. The observed variations with frequency are then attributed to the change in the balance between the different components of losses, each showing a different sensitivity to stress depending on frequency. The study provides a phenomenological description of the frequency-dependent loss behaviour of magnetic materials under tensile and compressive mechanical stress.