Modeling of Electrical Steel Siliconizing Processes

Mathematical modeling of electrical steel siliconizing processes is conducted for various substrate thicknesses, temperatures, and saturating mixture compositions. The parameters and their influence on the overall process efficiency are determined. It is concluded that, to achieve the required total silicon content of no more than 6.5% in the steel, it is advisable to control the silicon content in the siliconizing layer, while the depth and homogeneity of saturation can be controlled by the annealing temperature. This will prevent silicon segregation in localized areas and the formation of iron-silicon compounds.