Structure of Fe–Nb–Cu–Si–B Nanocrystalline Alloy Strip Produced by Melt Spinning

Abstract

Recently, amorphous and nanocrystalline magnetically soft iron alloys have been used to create protective materials that are effective in a broad range of magnetic and electromagnetic fields. These alloys are obtained in strip form by superfast quenching of a plane melt jet on a rapidly spinning cooled disk. In the production of amorphous strip, metal melted in a high-frequency inductor is supplied through a cut on the surface of the cooling disk. The surface layers of the congealing strip in contact with the cooled disk are cooled more rapidly than higher layers in no contact with the disk. As a result, residual compressive stress may be formed on the contact side of the strip, while tensile stress may be formed on the free side. This may lead to anisotropic structure and properties over the strip thickness. In the present work, the structure is investigated by transmission microscopy (planar geometry and cross-sectional geometry) over the thickness of AMAG-200 Fe–Nb–Cu–Si–B alloy strip obtained by spinning. A relation is established between AMAG-200 Fe–Nb–Cu–Si–B alloy strip produced in controlled crystallization and the structure of the amorphous strip obtained by superfast quenching of melt at rates up to 10⁶ K/s. That explains the structural anisotropy over the strip thickness. Heat treatment at 530°C forms excellent magnetic characteristics and decreases the work of destruction on account of the formation of optimal amorphous–nanocrystalline structure in terms of the bulk content and size of the crystallites. A scanning electron microscope is used to study the destruction of strip associated with the structure formed in the strip on superfast quenching from melt and after heat treatment at 530°C. In the state supplied, the surface fracture of the strip on sudden decrease in grain size is ductile; after heat treatment, it is consistently brittle.