Electromagnetic Characterization of Steel Microstructures
Summary
Electromagnetic characterisation of steel microstructures employs magnetic and electric field measurements to probe the internal arrangement and phase composition of steel in a non-destructive manner. Variations in magnetic permeability, hysteresis behaviour and eddy-current response are directly affected by grain size, phase fractions (ferrite, martensite, bainite, pearlite) and crystallographic texture. Advanced sensors capture major and minor B–H loops, Barkhausen noise and multi-frequency impedance changes to infer domain wall processes, phase transformations and recovery or recrystallisation kinetics during heat treatment. Such techniques enable in-situ monitoring of microstructural evolution, quality control of dual-phase and interstitial-free steels, and assessment of anisotropy in sheet products. The approach offers rapid feedback for automotive, power-station and manufacturing applications, linking electromagnetic signatures to mechanical performance and supporting predictive models of magnetic anisotropy and permeability.
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Electromagnetic Characterization of Steel Microstructures publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in electromagnetic characterization of steel microstructures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Electromagnetic characterisation: Non-destructive probing of material microstructure using magnetic and electric field interactions.
Relative permeability: Ratio of a material’s magnetic permeability to the permeability of free space, indicating ease of magnetisation.
Magnetic hysteresis loop: Plot of magnetic flux density versus magnetic field strength, revealing coercivity and remanence.
Crystallographic texture: Statistical distribution of grain orientations in a polycrystalline material affecting anisotropic properties.
Ferrite: Body-centred cubic iron phase in steel, soft and highly permeable to magnetic fields.
Martensite: Hard, body-centred tetragonal phase formed by rapid quenching of austenite, with high coercivity.
References
- Scalar permeability microstructure model considering crystallographic texture and grain size for magnetic evaluation of anisotropy in steel. Acta Materialia (2025).
- Magnetic characterisation of grain size and precipitate distribution by major and minor BH loop measurements. Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (2019).
- Consideration of Magnetic Measurements for Characterisation of Ferrite–Martensite Commercial Dual-Phase (DP) Steel and Basis for Optimisation of the Operating Magnetic Field for Open Loop Deployable Sensors. Metals (2021).
- Electromagnetic sensors for in-situ dynamic microstructure monitoring of recovery and recrystallisation in interstitial free steels. Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (2022).
- In-situ dynamic monitoring of phase transformation in steels using a multi-frequency electromagnetic sensor. NDT & E International (2023).
- Non-destructive evaluation of magnetic anisotropy associated with crystallographic texture of interstitial free steels. Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (2023).
- Magnetic sensing for microstructural assessment of power station steels: Magnetic Barkhausen noise and minor loop measurements. Journal of Physics Conference Series (2013).
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