The physical and magnetic properties of electrodeposited iron foil

Abstract

This work is concerned predominantly with the properties of iron foil produced by an industrial process of electrodeposition. The structural, mechanical, electrical and magnetic characteristics of the foil have, been investigated hut are found to compare very poorly with those of commercial soft magnetic sheet materials. Some improvement in the foil magnetic properties can he effected by hi^ temperature heat treatments, and a strain-anneal technique for producing a large grain structure has been developed. The physical as well as magnetic properties of the heat treated foil have been investigated, and magnetic domain structures on the large grained foil have been studied using both wet and dry colloid techniques. In the heat treated state the foil has shown some potential value as a magnetic shielding material and comparisons with commercial mumetal shields have been made. In work conducted at the Synchrotron Radiation Facility at Daresbury Laboratory the value of synchrotron radiation as a tool for the rapid assessment of the grain size, orientation and perfection of a polycrystalline metal sheet material has been demonstrated and the recrystallization of silicon-iron at 1000 C has been studied. The latter experiment represents the first in-situ X-ray topographic study of crystal growth under normal growth conditions.