  Magnetic properties of electrical steel are usually measured on Single Sheet
Testers, Epstein frames or ring cores. Due to the geometric dimensions and
measurement principles of these standardized setups, the fundamental
microstructural influences on the magnetic behavior, e.g., deformation
structures, crystal orientation or grain boundaries, are difficult to separate
and quantify. In this paper, a miniaturized Single Sheet Tester is presented
that allows the characterization of industrial steel sheets as well as from in
size limited single, bi- and oligocrystals starting from samples with
dimensions of 10x22 mm. Thereby, the measurement of global magnetic properties
is coupled with microstructural analysis methods to allow the investigation of
micro scale magnetic effects. An effect of grain orientation, grain boundaries
and deformation structures has already been identified with the presented
experimental setup. In addition, a correction function is introduced to allow
quantitative comparisons between differently sized Single Sheet Testers. This
approach is not limited to the presented Single Sheet Tester geometry, but
applicable for the comparison of results of differently sized Single Sheet
Testers. The results of the miniaturized Single Sheet Tester were validated on
five industrial electrical steel grades. Furthermore, first results of
differently oriented single crystals as well as measurements on grain-oriented
electrical steel are shown to prove the additional value of the miniaturized
Single Sheet Tester geometry.

Materials Science