CORE MATERIAL

Abstract: Disclosed is an iron core material, comprising a high density compression molded product of a mixture of magne­ tic powder of iron or iron alloy having a mean particle size of 100 µ or less and an insulating caking material such as thermosetting resins. The magnetic powder, when its mean particle size s represented by D µ and its resistivity by ρµΩ -cm, is preferred to have a value of the resistivity which may satisfy the following equation: The material preferably has a magnetic flux density of at least 1T at a magnetization force of 8000 A/m, as represented by the characteristic (6).

Description: This invention relates to a magnetic core material, comprising a high density compression molded product of a mixture of a magnetic powder of iron or an iron alloy having a mean particle size of 100 µm or less and an insulating caking material. Such material is known from GB-A-403 368. In the prior art, in electrical instruments such as an electric power converting device, including a device for converting an alternating current to a direct current, a device for converting an alternating current having a certain frequency to another alternating current having a different frequency and a device for converting a direct current to an alternating current such as so-called chopper, or a non-contact breaker, etc., there have been employed, as electrical circuit constituent elements thereof, semiconductor switching elements, typically thyristor and transistor, and reactors for relaxation of turn-on voltage, commutation reactors, reactors for energy heat accumulation or transformers for matching connected to these elements. As an example of such electric power converting devices, Figure 1 shows an electrical circuit of a device for converting a direct current to an alternating current. The electric power converting device as shown in Figure 1 is constituted of a semiconductor switching element 1, a reactor 2 for relaxation of turn-on stress, a transformer 3 for matching, a d.c. source 5 and an a.c. load 4. Through these reactors or transformers, a current containing a high frequency component reaching 100 KHz or higher, even to the extent over 500 KHz in some cases, may sometimes pass on switching of the semiconductors. As the magnetic core constituting such a reactor of a transformer, there have been employed in the prior art such materials as shown below. That is, there may be mentioned: (a) a laminated magnetic core prepared by laminating thin electromagnetic steel plates or permalloy plates having applied interlayer insulations; (b) a so called dust core prepared by caking carbonyl iron minute powders or permalloy minute powders with the use of, for example, a resin such as a phenolic resin; or (c) a so called ferrite core prepared by sintering an oxide type magnetic material. Among these, a laminated magnetic core, while its exhibits excellent electric characteristics at a commercial frequency band, is marked in iron loss of the magnetic core at higher frequency band, particularly increasing in eddy-current loss in production to the second powder of a frequency. It has also the property that the magnetizing power can more difficultly be changed at inner portions farther from the surface of plate materials constituting the magnetic core because of the skin effect of the magnetic core material. Accordingly, a laminated magnetic core can be used only at a magnetic flux density far lower than the saturated magnetic flux density inherently possessed by the magnetic core material itself, and there is also involved the problem of a very great eddy-current loss. Further, a laminated magnetic core has a problem of extremely lower effective magnetic permeability relative to higher frequency, as compared with that relative to commercial frequency. When a laminated magnetic core having these problems is to be used in a reactor, a transformer, etc. connected to a semiconductor switching element through which a current having a high frequency component passes, the magnetic core itself must be made to have great dimensions to compensate for effective magnetic permeability and magnetic flux density, whereby, also because of lower effective magnetic permeability, there is also involved the problem of increased copper loss. On the other hand, there is employed as the magnetic core material a compressed powdery magnetic body called as dust core, as described in detail in, for example, JP-C-112235. However, such dust cores generally have considerably lower values of magnetic flux and magnetic permeability. Among them, even a dust core using carbonyl iron powders having a relatively higher magnetic flux density has a magnetic flux of only about 0.1 T and a magnetic permeability of only about 1.25×10⁻⁵ H/m at a magnetizing force of 8000 A/m. Accordingly, in a reactor or a transformer using a dust core as the magnetic core material, the magnetic core must be inevitably made to have great dimensions, whereby there is involved the problem of increased copper loss in a reactor or a transformer. Alternatively, a ferrite core employed in a small scale electrical instrument has a high specific resistivity value and a relatively excellent high frequency characteristic. However, a ferrite core has a magnetic flux density as low as about 0.4 T at a magnetizing force of 8000 A/m, and the values of magnetic permeability and the magnetic flux density at the same magnetizing force are respectively varied by some ten percents at -40 to 120°C, which is the temperature range useful for the magnetic core. For this reason, when a ferrite core is to be used as a magnetic core material for a reactor or a transformer connected to a semiconductor switching element, the magnetic core must be enlarged because of the small magnetic flux density. But, a large ferrite core, which is a sintered product, can be prepared only with difficulty and thus is not suitable as the magnetic core material. Also, a ferrite core involves the problems of great copper loss caused by its low magnetic flux density, of its great characteristic change when applied for a reactor or a transformer due to the great influence by temperatures on magnetic permeability and magnetic flux density, and further of increased noise generated from the magnetic core due to the greater magnetic distortion, as compared with a magnetic copper plate, etc. GB-A-403 368 discloses a dust core employing magnetic particles of such size as to pass through a 400 mesh screen. Such cores have been available since the 1930's and correspond to the dust core discussed above. But such cores have a relatively low permeability. DE-A-2 147 663 describes an electric motor wherein the stator and rotor have field conducting components built on as molded parts consisting of fine-grained magnetic material and synthetic resin as binder. FR-A-2 229 777 describes a composite material consisting essentially of an intimate mixture of metal particles and an organic thermosetting or thermoplastic resinous binder in which the proportion of voids and the proportion of binder in the composite material is controlled to be within specified limits. The product according to the reference is claimed to have better mechanical characteristics over similar materials previously known. An object of this invention is to provide a magnetic core material to be used for a reactor or a transformer connected to a semiconductor element, which has overcome the problems as described above, having an excellent frequency characteristic of magnetic permeability and a high magnetic flux density. The invention is defined in claim 1. In the following, this invention is to be described in further detail. Figure 1 shows, as already referred to in the foregoing, an example of an electric circuit in a device for converting direct current to alternate current; and Figure 2 shows direct current magnetization curves in a magnetic core material, according to Example 1, of this invention and a dust core of a prior art material. The magnetic powder of an iron alloy of Fe-Si or Fe-Al to be used in this invention is required to have a mean particle size or diameter of 100 µm or less, but preferably not less than 2 µm from a viewpoint of practical use. This is because the aforesaid magnetic powder has a resistivity of 10 µΩ-cm to some ten µΩ-cm at the highest, and therefore in order to obtain sufficient magnetic core material characteristics even in an alternate current containing high frequencies yielding skin effect, the magnetic powder must be made into minute particles thereby to have the particles from their surfaces to inner portions contribute sufficiently to magnetization. Such a magnetic powder, when its mean particle size or diameter is represented by D[µm] and its resistivity by ρ[µΩ-cm], is preferred to have a resistivity value, when represented in terms of only the numerical value of ρ/D² satisfying the following relationship: ρ/D²≧4×10⁻³. As such magnetic powder there may be included, for example, Fe-Si alloy powder, typically Fe-3%Si alloy powder and Fe-Al alloy powder, and one or more kinds selected from the group consisting of these may be employed. The insulating caking material to be used in this invention has the function of binding the aforesaid magnetic powders simultaneously with insulation of the magnetic powder particles from each other, thereby imparting sufficient effective electric resistance value for alternate current magnetization to the magnetic core material as a whole. As such insulating caking materials, there may be included various thermosetting and thermoplastic resins such as epoxy resins, polyamide resins, polyimide resins, polyester resins, polycarbonate resins, polyacetal resins, polysulfone resins, polyphenylene oxide resins and others, and one or more kinds selected from the group consisting of these may be used. The molded product comprising the aforesaid magnetic powder and caking material may preferably have a composition, comprising 1.5 to 25 % by volume of a caking material and the balance being a magnetic powder. At a level of a caking material less than 1.5 % by volume, while there is no change in density and magnetic flux density of the magnetic core material as compared with those by addition of 1.5 % by volume, effective resistivity is lowered. On the other hand, when the amount of a caking material exceeds 25 % by volume, magnetic flux density and magnetic permeability are abruptly lowered, although there is no substantial increase in effective electric resistance. The high density compression molded product which is the magnetic core material of this invention may be prepared, for example, as follows. That is, predetermined amounts of a magnetic powder and a caking material are mixed together, and the molded into a desired shape according to, for example, the compression molding method under pressure of 50-1000 MPa, to give a desired magnetic core material. If necessary, a heat treatment may also be applied on the molded product. This invention is to be described in further detail by referring to the Examples set forth below. Example 1 A thermosetting epoxy type resin Epikote (tradename, available from Shell Chemical Co.) was added and formulated into Fe-1.5%Si alloy powders having a mean particle diameter of 37 to 50 µm in various amounts as indicated in Table 1 (% by volume) based on the total amount of these components to prepare seven kinds of mixtures. These mixtures were compression molded under a molding pressure of 5.88×10⁸ N/m² (6 ton/cm²) into a desired shape, followed by application of heat treatment for hardening at 200°C for one hour, to obtain magnetic core materials. Comparative example 1 Two kinds of magnetic core materials were obtained according to entirely the same procedure as in Example 1 except that the amounts of the thermosetting epoxy type resin were varied. The formulations are shown at the same time in Table 1. For each of the nine kinds of the magnetic core materials obtained according to the above procedures in Example 1 and Comparative example 1, specific gravity, magnetic flux density at a magnetizing force of 8000 A/m and effective resistivity (the value calculated from the eddy-current loss of a magnetic core material for alternate current) were measured. The results are shown at the same time in Table 1. As apparently seen from the Table, the magnetic core material of this invention was confirmed to have excellent magnetic flux density and excellent effective resistivity at a magnetizing force of 8000 A/m. When the magnetic core materials of Samples No. 1 to No. 7 according to the Example of this invention were subjected to measurements of changes in magnetic permeability and magnetic flux density at -40 to 120°C, the data obtained were all less than 10 %. Fig. 2 shows direct current magnetization curves representing changes in magnetic flux density for respective magnetizing forces, in which the curve 6 represents the direct current magnetization characteristic of the magnetic core material of Sample No. 6 of this invention, and the curve 7 that of the magnetic core material comprising a dust core of the prior art. As apparently seen from Fig. 2 the magnetic core material of this invention was confirmed to be an excellent one having higher magnetic flux density, as compared with the magnetic core material comprising the dust core. Example 2 A thermosetting epoxy resin used in Example 1 was added and formulated into magnetic powders of Fe-3%Si alloy having mean diameters of 37 to 63 µm in various amounts (% by volume) as shown in Table 2 based on the total amount of these components to prepare three kinds of mixtures. These mixtures were subjected to the same procedure as in Example 1 to obtain respective magnetic core materials. Comparative example 2 With the use of a permalloy having a plate thickness of 25 µm, a magnetic core material was prepared by lamination of plates which had been subjected to interlayer insulation. For each of the four kinds of iron materials obtained by application of the above treatments in Example 2 and Comparative example 2, effective magnetic permeability for alternate currents with frequencies of 1 KHz to 500 KHz were measured. The results are shown in Table 2. As apparently seen from the Table, it was confirmed that the magnetic core material of this invention had effective magnetic permeabilities with very little change in the frequency band of 1 KHz to 500 KHz, as compared with the laminated magnetic core using a permalloy, and also that its value was excellently high. Example 3 and comparative example 3 A thermosetting epoxy resin used in Example 1 was added to various pouwders of iron-base alloys having different mean particle diameters as shown in Table 3 in an amount of 12% by volume, and each mixture was compression molded under a molding pressure of 5.88×10⁸ N/m² (6 ton/cm²) into a desired shape, followed by heat treatment at 190°C for 2 hours to obtain magnetic core materials. For these magnetic core materials, effective permeabilities at 1 KHz to 500 KHz were measured, and the results represented by the ratios to the standard of the effective permeability at 1 KHz are shown in Table 3. As apparently seen from Table 3, when the mean particle diameter of iron-base alloy powder is represented by D[µm] and its resistivity by ρ[µΩ-cm], and when the resistance value represented in terms of only the numerical value of ρ/D² satisfies the following relationship: ρ/D²≧4×10⁻³, it was confirmed that the change in effective permeability between 1 and 500 kHz was 10 % or less.

Claims: 1. A magnetic core material comprising a high density compression molded product of a mixture of a magnetic powder of an iron alloy having a mean particle size of 100 µm or less and an insulating caking material, characterised in that the magnetic powder is one ore more powders selected from the group consisting of Fe-Si alloy powder and Fe-Al alloy powder, in that the molded product has a composition comprising 1.5 to 25 % by volume of the caking material, the balance being the magnetic powder, and in that when the mean particle size of the magnetic powder is represented by D(µm) and its resistivity by rho(µ Ohm.cm), the magnetic powder has a numerical value of rho/D² satisfying the following relationship: rho/D² ≧ 4 x 10⁻³. 2. The magnetic core material according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic powder has a mean particle size of from 2 to 100 µm. 3. The magnetic core material according to claim 1, wherein said insulating caking material is one or more resins selected from the group consisting of epoxy resins, polyamide resins, polyimide resins, polyester resins, polycarbonate resins, polyacetal resins, polysulfone resins and polyphenylene oxide resins.

Inventors: HORIE, HIROMICHI TOKYO SHIBAURA DENKI K.K., MURABAYASHI, HIDEKI TOKYO SHIBAURA DENKI K.K., SHIMOTORI, KAZUMI TOKYO SHIBAURA DENKI K.K.
Applicants: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
Application year: 1983
Main classification: H01F1
IPC codes: C22C38, H01F1