Magnetic Materials Used in Electrical Machines: A Comparison and Selection Guide for Early Machine Design

This article presents an up-to-date magnetic material investigation and overview on soft magnetic materials used in rotating electrical machines. The focus is on small-to-medium-sized high-performance and high-efficiency permanent-magnet and induction motors for different application scenarios. The investigated materials include fully processed silicon-iron (SiFe), nickel-iron (NiFe), and cobalt-iron (CoFe) lamination steels as well as soft magnetic composites (SMCs) and amorphous magnetic materials. This article focuses on the magnetic properties and iron losses as well as the manufacturing influence and required thermal treatments during the manufacturing process. A new loss-to-flux-density factor is introduced to compare the magnetization curve and the iron losses of different materials within the same diagram. This article provides a review and comparison of magnetic substances for use in high-performance machines.