Electrical Steel is an ultra-low carbon alloy steel with a silicon content ranging from 0.5% to 4.5%. This seemingly ordinary sheet material is actually the core material of electrical equipment. Its unique magnetic properties make it the optimal choice for manufacturing transformer cores and motor rotors. For every 1% increase in silicon content, the resistivity increases by approximately four times, effectively reducing the eddy current losses generated during equipment operation.

It is the "blood" of the power system, the "nerve" of the motor, and the "soul" of the transformer, but it is rarely paid attention to. From urban power grids to high-speed trains, from wind power generation to household appliances, silicon steel supports the operation of modern civilization in an almost invisible manner. Today, let us unveil the veil of this mysterious material.

In order to sort out the current situation of special steel for energy use in China and guide the way for future development, World Metal Guide and CITIC Pacific Special Steel Group jointly launched a series of reports on "Special Steel for energy use", discussing the product research and development, technological innovation, typical applications and future prospects of special steel for energy use from the perspective of production, education and research, and accelerating the advancement of special steel industry for energy use to high-end.

The study of hysteresis loop characteristics testing methods for core materials in extreme low-temperature environments is critical for advanced fields such as superconducting power equipment and deep-space exploration systems. In liquid nitrogen (-196°C) or even liquid helium temperature ranges (-269°C), the magnetic domain motion mechanisms and domain wall pinning effects of core materials undergo significant changes due to reduced lattice vibrations, leading to hysteresis losses that differ by orders of magnitude compared to room-temperature conditions. Conventional hysteresis loop testing setups face challenges in extreme low-temperature applications due to incompatibility with cryogenic vacuum chambers and thermal contraction interference. This necessitates redesigning the thermo-mechanical-magnetic coupling framework of the testing system to ensure synergistic stability among magnetic field excitation coils, flux detection probes, and the sample temperature zone.

The laser cutting process and edge effect control for ultra-thin ferrite cores represent a core technical challenge in the manufacturing of high-frequency magnetic components. As electronic devices evolve toward higher frequencies and miniaturization, ferrite core thicknesses have been reduced to millimeter or even submillimeter scales. Traditional mechanical cutting often causes brittle fractures and geometric inaccuracies due to stress concentration, whereas laser cutting, with its non-contact nature and high energy density, enables precision processing of ultra-thin ferrite materials.

The application of multi-air gap segmented core in anti-dc bias transformer has become an important research direction in the field of power equipment. With the increasing prominence of the DC component problem in the power grid, the efficiency degradation and temperature rise problems caused by magnetic saturation in traditional transformer cores need to be solved urgently. The multi-air gap segmented core effectively disperses the local flux distortion caused by DC bias by dividing the overall core into multiple independent magnetic circuit units and setting up a dispersed air gap structure between each segment. This design not only improves the core's immunity to DC current, but also inhibits excessive concentration of the magnetic chain through the magneto-resistive effect of the air gap, thus reducing core losses and noise levels.

Therefore, effectively controlling the eddy current losses of the iron core and optimizing the related materials are of great significance for improving energy utilization efficiency and promoting the development of electrical equipment towards energy-saving and high-performance directions.

With the growth of energy demand and the enhancement of environmental awareness, distributed energy systems (DES) have been widely applied globally due to their high efficiency, flexibility, and environmental friendliness. DES decentralizes energy production to locations close to users, reducing transmission losses and improving energy utilization efficiency. In DES, high-efficiency core transformers, as key equipment, play a crucial role in achieving efficient power conversion and distribution. This article will delve into the application of high - efficiency core transformers in distributed energy systems.