Patent Description:
Electrical steel, also known as silicon steel, is a steel alloy of iron and silicon used to make the cores of motors, transformers and generators. This type of steel can generate various magnetic properties, has high permeability and low amounts of core loss. It has a small hysteresis curve, meaning reduced magnetic hysteresis as well as iron losses, or energy loss. There are two kinds of structures for electrical steel; grain-oriented (GO-ES) and non-oriented (NGO-ES). Grain-oriented electrical steel has a uniform, consistent direction of grains in its structure which allows for greater flux density and magnetic saturation. Most commonly, grain-oriented electrical steel is used for transformers which have a predictable and specific magnetic field direction. NGO-ES is a steel of which has uniform magnetic property in all directions and is widely used in a motor, an iron core of an electric generator, an electric motor, a small transformer, and the like.

Practical use of NGO-ES almost invariably involves stacking a plurality of so called laminates. These laminates are normally stamped or cut out of a strip of NGO-ES. These stacked laminates have to be held together, which was traditionally done by means of welds or a containment frame. The efficiency of an electric motor may be impaired by interlocks or spot welds that hold the laminated stacks together. Any stresses imparted by these techniques introduce magnetic boundary changes into the stacks which decrease their magnetic permeability, and hence reduce their performance.

The laminates are separated from each other by an insulating layer to prevent electrical contact between the NGO-ES sheets, and these insulating layers are normally applied before producing the laminates from the strip of NGO-ES. However, in an electrifying world and to push back on carbon emissions, the ever increasing use of high-end, high efficiency and ever smaller motors and generators requires an excellent insulating property between the layers of the NGO-ES laminates. The minimization of eddy current losses drives towards increasing the insulating coating thickness. However, if the coating thickness is increased, properties like weldability, heat resistance, adherence before/after stress relief annealing and lamination factor (aka stacking factor) may be adversely affected.

Commercial electrical steel alloys usually have silicon content up to <NUM>%. Higher concentrations result in brittleness during cold rolling. Manganese and Aluminium can be added up to <NUM>%.

NGO-ES usually has a silicon level of <NUM> to <NUM>% and has similar magnetic properties in all directions, i.e., it is isotropic.

<CIT> discloses a coating solution and a manufacturing method thereof, for forming an insulation film on a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet comprising core-cell nano particles of <NUM>-<NUM> weight %, and phosphate of <NUM>-<NUM> weight %. The core-cell nano particle includes a core consisting of magnetic nano particles, and a cell having at least one functional group being combined on the surface of the core. The magnetic nano particle includes at least one metal selected from a group consisting of Fe, Co, Ni, Pt, and Mn, or its oxide. The cell is at least one metal selected from among Si, Al, Mn, Zr, and Ti, or a form of its oxide bonded with hydroxyl.

<CIT> discloses a production of discontinuous, flake-shaped particles of a soft magnetic material, coating the flake-shaped particles with an electrically insulating coating, and consolidating the coated flaked-shaped particles to form a soft magnetic bulk shape. The consolidated bulk shape can comprise a layer or a simple or complex 3D magnet part shape, which has a consolidated layered microstructure that includes laminated soft magnetic regions that are substantially encapsulated by an electrical insulating layer to increase the resistivity of soft magnetic material.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method for producing coated electrical steels that enable low eddy current losses.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a method for producing coated electrical steels that enable a higher lamination factor.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a core stack with low eddy current losses.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a core stack with an improved lamination factor.

One or more of the objects is reached with a method for producing an electrically insulating non-oriented electrical steel strip or sheet for producing laminates for electrical steel stacks, comprising the subsequent steps of:.

The term "green" is used to indicate that the curing of the lacquer is not yet complete. The partial curing ensures that the coated electrical steel strip or sheet is no longer sticky and therefore the strip can be coiled safely or, if sheets or parts were cut from the strip, stacked so that the electrically insulating non-oriented electrical steel can be safely stored or transported. Only after a full curing treatment will the final properties, such as adhesive strength and hardness, of the lacquer be obtained.

Preferred embodiments are provided in the dependent claims.

ISO/TS <NUM>-<NUM>:<NUM>(en) defines a nanomaterial as a material with any external dimension in the nanoscale. The practical lower limit is about <NUM> and a practical upper limit is about <NUM>, this relates to the dimension in one direction, so that only one dimension must be smaller than about <NUM>. A whisker or platelet with a length of several µm but with a thickness of <NUM> is still considered a nanoparticle within the context of the standard and this invention. According to ISO/TS <NUM>-<NUM>:<NUM>(en) a nano-object is a discrete piece of material with one, two or three external dimensions in the nanoscale, wherein the second and third external dimensions are orthogonal to the first dimension and to each other. In the context of this invention the magnetic nanoparticles are nano-objects with at least one dimension between <NUM> and <NUM>, optionally the magnetic nanoparticles are nano-objects with two dimensions between <NUM> and <NUM> or the magnetic nanoparticles are nano-objects with three dimensions between <NUM> and <NUM>.

In the method according to the invention the starting material is a conventional non-oriented electrical steel strip (NGO-ES) that is cold rolled and recrystallisation annealed to ensure that aspects like thickness, microstructure and crystallographic texture are within the required specifications. After annealing the strip is coated with an electrically insulating layer on one side, and preferably on both sides, wherein the layer is provided with dispersed magnetic nanoparticles.

The insulating layer may be provided in the form of a cured organic lacquer provided with dispersed magnetic nanoparticles or it may be provided in the form of a polymer film with dispersed or embedded magnetic nanoparticles.

In an electrical steel stack, the "lamination factor" is related to the proportion of electrical steel in the stack. The more electrical steel, the closer the lamination factor is to <NUM>. The lacquers used for bonding the laminations of electrical steel therefore must be thin enough to maximize the lamination factor, but thick enough to provide an electrically resistant bonding layer between the neighbouring laminations. The reason why it is beneficial to embed the magnetic nanoparticles in the insulation layer is that this is a way to increase the so-called lamination factor of a core stack that is produced from this material by increasing the amount of magnetic material in the stack. If the insulation layers, which are normally not contributing to the lamination factor, can be made to contribute by embedding magnetic nanoparticles in the insulation layer, while retaining the bonding capacity and the insulating properties and no increase, or at no significant increase that nullifies the effect of the addition of the magnetic nanoparticles in the insulation layer, of the insulating layer thickness, then the lamination factor of the stack increases as a result of the presence of the embedded magnetic nanoparticles.

The embedded magnetic nanoparticles must be small enough to be dispersed or embedded in the insulating layer below the percolation threshold, or be electrically insulating, to ensure no electrical contact occurs through the lacquer but must have sufficient magnetic component to contribute positively to the lamination factor.

To minimise the risk of unwanted electrical connections between the electrical steel laminations when using electrically conducting or semi-conducting magnetic nanoparticles, a three layer coating could be produced where the coating layers adjacent to the electrical steel contain no nanoparticles, but the central layer contains nanoparticles. In this way, upon bonding, there is less risk of producing electrical contacts between laminations. In another embodiment the magnetic nanoparticles consist of sufficiently electrically insulted nanoparticles (e.g. in core-shell nanomaterial systems), so as to preserve the electrical insulation properties of the lacquer coating.

Nanoparticle magnetic moments can be aligned if required through the addition of an external magnetic field, applied externally or through the electrical steel laminations, during curing of the applied lacquer or bonding of the laminations in the stack.

It is important to note that there is a limit to the amount of particles that can be included in the lacquer. If the amount exceeds a certain threshold value, the percolation threshold, the particles will form a contiguous network that renders the layer electrically conductive. The percolation threshold is a mathematical concept in percolation theory that describes the formation of long-range connectivity in random systems. Below the threshold a giant connected component does not exist; while above it, there exists a giant component of the order of system size.

An additional advantage is that interlaminar corrosion is prevented.

In an embodiment the insulating layer with the embedded magnetic particles may be applied on one side only. If a lacquer is applied on the other side without the particles, then the maximum benefit of the invention may not be completely obtained, but this may be preferable in case there is a need for a lacquer that has a higher insulating capacity or a better adhesion performance. However, it is preferable that the insulating layer with the embedded magnetic particles is applied on both sides and by selecting a lacquer with sufficient insulating capacity and adhesion performance while still contributing positively to the lamination factor.

In the embodiment wherein the insulating layer is provided in the form of a cured lacquer provided with dispersed magnetic nanoparticles the following applies. After applying the lacquer with magnetic nanoparticles dispersed therein to the annealed strip and subjecting the thusly coated strip to at least a partial curing of the lacquer, the dispersed magnetic nanoparticles stay in their dispersed condition in an at least partially cured lacquer matrix. The lacquer is preferably partially cured because then the coated electrical steel strip or sheet is no longer sticky and therefore the strip can be coiled safely or, if sheets were cut from the strip, stacked so that the electrically insulating non-oriented electrical steel can be safely stored or transported. When laminates are produced from the coated steel strip or sheet, for instance by stamping or cutting, and stacked to form an electrical steel stack then the stack may be subjected to the final curing to achieve a permanent bond between the laminates of the electrical steel stack.

In an embodiment the lacquer with the dispersed magnetic nanoparticles is applied to the strip or sheet by roll-coating. An optional magnetic field may be applied during coating to align the nanoparticle magnetic moments as required. Roll-coating This allows the application of a smooth, consistent and homogeneous lacquer layer in an industrial annealing and coating line. However, the invention is not limited to this application technology. As long as nanoparticles can be dispersed in the lacquer, the lacquer can be utilised in most coating technologies. Other application techniques include spray coating, dip coating and bar coating.

The magnetic nanoparticles can be incorporated in the bonding lacquer by direct dispersion in the bonding lacquer solution using agitation, such as ultrasonic cavitation, or by incorporation of the nanoparticle in a core-shell nanostructure, such as a silicon oxide shell, which aids with dispersion in the bonding lacquer solution and/or provides electrical insulation to the nanoparticle, or by chemical attachment of the nanoparticle or core shell nanoparticle to the polymer chains of the bonding lacquer using, for example, hydroxyl or amide bonding.

The final curing of the stack is preferably performed under a compressive force to ensure the adhesion of the stacked laminates. Preferably the final curing is performed while a magnetic field is applied to align the magnetic dipoles in the nanoparticles. The lamination factor of the stack that is producible from the steel strip or sheet according to the invention is increased by the presence of the magnetic nanoparticles, and the alignment of the magnetic dipoles of the magnetic nanoparticles contributes to the magnetic coupling to the electrical steel laminations and hence improve the overall performance of the stack.

The lacquer is typically a polymeric material that dries by solvent evaporation to produce a hard, durable finish. Examples include, but not exclusively, acrylic polymers and polymers containing epoxy-type moieties.

Advantage of the bonding lacquer technique are:.

In the embodiment wherein the insulating layer is provided in the form of polymer film with dispersed or embedded magnetic nanoparticles the following applies. The polymer film with magnetic nanoparticles can be applied to the electrical steel by direct extrusion of a liquid polymer film with magnetic nanoparticles dispersed therein to the substrate, or by laminating a solid polymer film with embedded magnetic nanoparticles to the electrical steel. The adhesion between the electrical steel and the polymer film may be obtained by heat bonding to the pre-heated electrical steel substrate alone, or it can be obtained by using a dedicated adhesion layer optionally in combination with heat bonding the solid polymer film to the pre-heated electrical steel substrate. So the heat bonding may be performed with or without an adhesion layer between the polymer film and the steel.

The properties of the insulating layer preferably are as follows:.

Additional preferable properties are relating to the durability of the layers are:.

The temperature at which the lacquer is cured or at which the polymer film is applied is preferably between <NUM> and <NUM>, and preferably at most <NUM>. The resistance to the boiling water is indicative of the polymer resisting swelling or chemical degradation by the water, and the resistance to an ethanol rub means the resistance of the layer to swelling or chemical degradation when the layer is rubbed <NUM> times by a cloth wetted with ethanol.

The thickness of the electrically insulating layer is preferably at most <NUM>, and the coating weight is preferably at most <NUM>/m<NUM>. The surface insulation resistance is preferably at least <NUM>Ωcm<NUM>/lamination.

The amount of nanoparticles in the lacquer or polymer layer has to be below the amount at which the nanoparticles form an electrically conductive path through the insulation layer, because then the layer is no longer electrically insulating. Preferably the amount of nanoparticles in the insulation layer is between <NUM> and <NUM> vol.

Examples of suitable materials for the magnetic nanoparticles are Fe, Co, Ni, Pt, Ti, Zn, Cr, Al, Si, their alloys or organometallics. The magnetic nanoparticles may also be selected from the oxides of Fe, Co, Ni, Pt, Ti, Zn, Cr, Al or Si.

Preferably the magnetic material should have a high relative magnetic permeability µr of between <NUM><NUM> and <NUM><NUM>, where relative magnetic permeability is the quotient of the nanoparticle magnetic permeability, µ, versus the permeability of a vacuum. µ<NUM> (i.e. µr = µ/µ0). As a comparison, electrical steel has a relative permeability of about <NUM>.

To reduce hysteresis losses, the magnetic nanoparticles should also have a low magnetic coercivity. Magnetic coercivity is a measure of the ability of a ferromagnetic material to withstand an external magnetic field without becoming demagnetized. Coercivity is usually measured in oersted or ampere/meter units and is denoted HC. For the purpose of the invention HC of the magnetic nanoparticles is preferably between <NUM> and <NUM> kA/m. As a comparison, electrical steel has a coercivity of approximately <NUM> kA/m.

It is preferable that at least one of the dimensions of the magnetic nanoparticles is between <NUM> and <NUM>. The nanoparticles do not have to be spherical, but could be rod or sheet like to improve nanoparticle stacking in the coating, hence the requirement that at least one dimension be <NUM> or less. It could also be that smaller magnetic nanoparticles are supported on carrier nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene etc. to assist with processing of the loaded layer. In case the magnetic nanoparticles are of the platelet type, then at least one dimension is from <NUM> to <NUM>. In case the nanoparticles are of the globular type, then the dimension in all directions is between <NUM> and <NUM>. Preferably at least one dimension of the magnetic nanoparticles is at least <NUM> and/or at most <NUM>. More preferably at least one dimension of the magnetic nanoparticles is at most <NUM>. Platelet materials may be beneficial as they tend to align when confined in a thin lacquer or polymer layer.

In an embodiment the thickness of the NGO-ES is at least <NUM> and at most <NUM>. It is preferable that the thickness is at least <NUM> and/or that it does not exceed <NUM>. Typical electrical steel thicknesses have been above <NUM> but moves towards sub <NUM> thicknesses are driving the electrical steel market.

In an embodiment the non-oriented electrical steel strip or sheet with the electrically insulating layer is further processed by stamping or cutting laminations from the strip or sheet, and wherein a plurality of laminations is stacked to form an electrical steel stack, and wherein the electrical steel stack is subsequently fully cured or bonded while applying pressure and/or heat and while optionally applying a magnetic field to align the magnetic dipoles in the magnetic nanoparticles, to produce an electrical steel stack for a generator, transformer or electrical machine, such as an electric motor for electric vehicles (e.g. EV, HEV, PHEV), for domestic appliances (lawn mower or vacuum cleaner), industrial appliances, robotic appliances or space technology appliances or the like.

According to a second aspect the invention is also embodied in an electrically insulating non-oriented electrical steel strip or sheet, produced according the method according to the invention, comprising a non-oriented electrical steel substrate coated on one or both sides with an electrically insulating layer with embedded magnetic nano-particles according to claim <NUM>. Preferred embodiments are provided in the dependent claims.

According to a third aspect the invention is also embodied in the use of the electrically insulating non-oriented electrical steel strip or sheet according to the invention to produce laminations from the strip or sheet, e.g. by stamping or cutting, and to stack a plurality of laminations to form an electrical steel stack and to subsequently fully cure the lacquer and/or bind the laminations together in the stack or while applying pressure and/or heat and while applying an optional magnetic field to align the magnetic dipoles in the nanoparticles.

The intended application for this patent is in the automotive industry. However, it will also be available to other areas of application in which electric motors are utilised, including for example in the railway applications (e. g trains), manufacturing (robotics), space (satellite technology), domestic (lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners), commercial (goods transport and manipulation) and construction (forklift trucks) industries.

Also electrical steel stacks are used in electrical rails, linear motors, electrical generators and electrical transformers and the invention can also be used to improve the efficiency of these electrical machines.

A Bisphenol A type epoxy lacquer resin (Axalta Voltatex® 1175WL) can be used to produce a dispersed NP solution. The lacquer was diluted (<NUM>-<NUM>% in water) for suitability for use with a roll-coating system, and the density, pH and viscosity was measured. Density was measured using a hydrometer immersed in <NUM> of the diluted lacquer and gave values of approximately <NUM>/cm2. pH was measured using pH paper, giving values of approximately pH <NUM>. Viscosity was measured using a viscometer flow cup (DIN <NUM>, <NUM> diameter orifice, <NUM> of volume) and gave a value of approximate dynamic viscosity of below <NUM> cP, which is a value suitable for use with a roll-coating system used in these experiments.

Magnetic nanoparticles (NPs), of dimensions of <<NUM>, such as iron oxide (Fe<NUM>O<NUM>), nickel powder (Ni), nickel oxide nanowires (NiO, L ~<NUM> × <NUM>) or iron/nickel oxide (Fe<NUM>O<NUM>/NiO), can be dispersed in the lacquer solution using mechanical mixing or ultrasonic agitation techniques.

Test samples of thin laminations (termed Epsteins) of a standard NGO electrical steel of <NUM> x <NUM> x approx. <NUM>-<NUM> dimensions, are coated with the lacquer using a roll-coater (type Encon Engineers ULTIMO <NUM>). The roll-coating produces lacquer coated Epsteins with coatings of varying thickness depending on coating conditions (e.g. roller speed, roller separation, Epstein thickness). In the example in <FIG>, lacquer thicknesses of approximately <NUM> thickness per side were achieved, which were precured in an oven following the manufacturers specifications (<NUM> for <NUM>-<NUM> seconds) immediately after coating.

Tests have been completed on single lacquer coated Epsteins to examine electrical conductivity of the lacquer coating using a Franklin resistivity tester according to ASTM A717, where a surface insulation resistance greater than <NUM>Ωcm<NUM> was considered acceptable. Further, to examine the coating durability, the coated Epstein was subjected to a <NUM>° bend test and the lacquer on the external bend examined visually for cracks (<FIG>).

A subsequent bonding test utilised a bracket, consisting of two metal plates held together with nuts and bolts, to apply pressure to a stack of coated Epsteins during heating for the final curing. A torque wrench (7000A, Wera) was used to apply approx. <NUM> torque, estimated to give <NUM> N/mm<NUM> force - slightly below the lacquer manufacturers specification of <NUM> N/mm<NUM> - and placed in the oven (<NUM> for <NUM> minutes) producing a successful bonding between Epsteins (<FIG>).

The magnetic performance of the coated Epsteins can be tested for magnetic power loss and magnetostriction, both individually and as part of an electrical steel stack. The magnetic properties of the electrical steel laminations can be measured at relevant measurement frequencies (e.g. <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>). The magnetic properties of the electrical steel laminations (<NUM>-<NUM> thick) mentioned above were tested, uncoated, at <NUM> and <NUM>. 7T magnetic field strength, giving power losses of <NUM>-<NUM> W/kg. Magnetostriction and power loss in electrical steels are improved when the steel laminations are mechanically constrained by a coating. The presence of magnetic material in the lacquer reduces these effects by improving lacquer stiffness around the electrical steel laminations.

Further, magnetic materials enhance the field produced by the motor windings. The stronger the magnetic flux through the electrical steel core, the more efficient the electrical motor. A motor requires low core losses, high permeability and high saturation magnetic polarizability. Magnetic permeability (µ) is the measure of the degree of magnetisation ability of a material and typically is measured against the magnetic permeability of vacuum (µ<NUM>) at different applied magnetic field strengths (B in Tesla), to give relative permeability (µr). Electrical steel has a µr of <NUM> (@<NUM>. 002T) while a polymer lacquer typically has a µr of approx. For a laminated electrical steel core with a stacking factor of <NUM>, an effective µr of <NUM> is achieved. However, because of the addition of magnetic nanoparticles to the lacquer the lamination factor increases to <NUM> (approx. <NUM>% nanoparticles by volume), and assuming example µr values of <NUM> (e.g. high purity [<NUM>%] Ni) or <NUM> (e.g. high purity [<NUM>%] Fe), increases in effective µr of <NUM>% and <NUM>% respectively can be achieved, thereby improving magnetic flux and consequently improving motor efficiency.

The invention will now be explained by means of the following, non-limiting figures.

Conventional electrical steels are FeSi alloys with silicon contents between <NUM> and <NUM> wt. A high silicon content benefits the magnetic properties. Silicon increases the electrical resistance thereby lowering eddy current losses resulting in an overall positive effect on total losses. But silicon content is limited due to processing factors. Si above <NUM> wt. % is unusual due to deteriorating workability, especially cold rolling, which is essential to achieve the required small strip thicknesses. These small thicknesses are desired because eddy current losses increase with increasing thickness. Another effective measure to improve magnetic properties of electrical steel strip is providing a rather large optimum grain size and a favourable texture. A larger grain size decreases hysteresis losses but also impairs workability.

The process steps of electrical steel sheet production are shown schematically in <FIG> (not to scale) and these include the continuous (thin) slab casting, hot rolling, pickling, cold-rolling and annealing & coating of the strip, and the coiling of the strip, or the cutting of the strip into steel sheets or sheet products.

Hot rolling primarily serves a structural improvement and a thickness reduction of the steel strip, required for the subsequent processing steps. The temperatures further lead to effects of recovery, recrystallization and grain growth immediately after deformation. As a result of these physical processes the microstructure and texture change strongly, dependent on many different rolling parameters such as temperature, characteristics of the roll gap, rolling speed or rolling forces. These factors are crucial for texture and microstructure evolution, thus influencing the final material properties.

In the cold-rolling process the final thickness is reached. The influence parameters are largely equivalent to the parameters during hot rolling with the exception of the temperature and its influence on the recovery and recrystallization. However, the deformation condition and microstructure of the cold strip is triggering the recovery and recrystallization during the subsequent annealing step. The development of texture and microstructure during cold rolling, depends on the total thickness reduction as well as the thickness reduction per rolling pass but additionally to a large degree on the properties of the input hot strip.

The annealing treatment of cold strip is a substantial processing step in the production of electrical steel. During this process the required application properties are further influenced and shaped. Mechanical and magnetic properties are a direct result of the microstructure, texture and material conditions of the annealed cold strip. In the annealing step the strip is cleaned, recrystallised and coated with an insulation layer. Whenever the carbon content of the material is higher than approx. <NUM> ppm, a decarburization function must be integrated in the annealing furnace to prevent magnetic overaging.

<FIG> shows a schematic image of the percolation threshold. At the left hand side the material is not electrically conducting, whereas at the right hand side it is fully conducting. In between there is a percolation transition where the conductivity starts to increase. Within the context of this invention it is crucial that the embedded particles do not form a connected network, so that the electrical resistivity of the insulating layer stays intact.

<FIG> shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of the method according to the invention as described herein above. An electrically insulating steel sheet or strip according to the invention (<NUM>) is made up of NGO-ES sheet (<NUM>) is coated on both sides by an electrically insulating layer (<NUM>) with embedded magnetic nanoparticles (<NUM>) in a (partially) cured lacquer matrix (<NUM>). The lacquer is applied by roll coating in this example. Note that the dimensions in the <FIG> are not to scale.

<FIG> shows three different types of electrically insulating steel strip or sheet according to the invention. <FIG> shows a stack comprising <NUM> electrically insulating steel sheets, coated on both sides with an electrically insulating layer with embedded magnetic nanoparticles in a matrix. <FIG> shows a stack comprising <NUM> electrically insulating steel sheets, coated on only one side with an electrically insulating layer with embedded magnetic nanoparticles in a matrix. <FIG> shows a stack comprising <NUM> electrically insulating steel sheets, coated on one side with an electrically insulating layer with embedded magnetic nanoparticles in a matrix and on the other side with an adhesion layer. All stacks have intermittent layers of NGO-ES and electrically insulating layer in between. The ratio NGO-ES to electrically insulating layers is highest in <FIG>. It is noted that the stacks are depicted schematically and that with a real stack there would be no space between the subsequent laminates.

<FIG> shows the three different types of electrically insulating steel strip or sheet according to the invention. <FIG> shows a sheet <NUM> coated on both sides with an electrically insulating layer with embedded magnetic nanoparticles <NUM> in a matrix. <FIG> shows a sheet <NUM> coated on only one side with an electrically insulating layer with embedded magnetic nanoparticles in a matrix and <FIG> shows a sheet <NUM> coated on one side with an electrically insulating layer <NUM> with embedded magnetic nanoparticles in a matrix and on the other side with an adhesion layer <NUM>. Figure 4d shows a stack of three steel sheets with electrically insulating layers with embedded magnetic nanoparticles in a between the steel sheets, and figure 4e shows an image of an actual stack which clearly shows that an actual stack comprises many more laminates than the <NUM> laminates schematically depicted in <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> shows the coated and partially cured Epsteins and 6b two Epsteins bonded together using the fully cured lacquer coatings.

Claim 1:
A method for producing an electrically insulating non-oriented electrical steel strip or sheet for producing laminates for electrical steel stacks, comprising the subsequent steps of :
• preparing a cold-rolled non-oriented electrical steel strip or sheet;
• annealing the cold-rolled steel strip or sheet;
• coating the annealed electrical steel strip or sheet on one or both sides with
i). a curable organic lacquer provided with dispersed magnetic nanoparticles followed by at least a partial curing of the lacquer to form a green insulation layer to allow transportation, cutting or shaping, or with
ii). a solid polymer film with embedded magnetic nanoparticles applied onto the annealed steel strip or sheet by direct extrusion or film lamination,
to provide an electrically insulating layer on the one or both sides of the annealed electrical steel strip or sheet;
• optionally coiling the coated strip or stacking the coated sheet.