Hysteresis measurements and numerical losses segregation of additively manufactured silicon steel for 3D printing electrical machines

Samples from FeSi4 powder were fabricated with a low power selective laser melting (SLM) system using a laser re-melting strategy. The sample material was characterized through magnetic measurements. The study showed excellent DC magnetic properties, comparable to commercial and other 3D printed soft ferromagnetic materials from the literature at low (1 T) magnetization. Empirical total core losses were segregated into hysteresis, eddy and excessive losses via the subtraction of finite element method (FEM) simulated eddy current losses and hysteresis losses measured at quasi-static conditions. Hysteresis losses were found to decrease from 3.65 to 0.95 W/kg (1 T, 50 Hz) after the annealing. Both empirical and FEM results confirm considerable eddy currents generated in the printed bulk toroidal sample, which increase dramatically at high material saturation after annealing. These losses could potentially be reduced by using partitioned material internal structure realized by printed airgaps. Similarly, with regard to the samples characterized in this study, the substantially increased core losses induced by material oversaturation due to reduced filling factor may present a challenge in realizing 3D printed electrical machines with comparable performance to established 2D laminated designs.Peer reviewe