Barkhausen noise as a microstructure characterization tool

Magnetic Barkhausen noise (mBN) is known to be related to magnetization reversal mechanisms and the underlying microstructure in magnetic materials. However, the quantitative evaluation of the material properties is hindered by the stochastic nature of the method combined with the lack of standardization. In this paper, the results of interlaboratory tests on the same series of samples are presented. Electrical steel samples have been prepared with controlled grain size (11–148 μm) and strain (0–29%) and have been characterized using the mBN technique as developed in three different laboratories. In spite of the different methodologies used, mBN is found to increase with strain and decrease with decreasing grain size, in all cases. Of special interest is the variation of the double-peaked BN envelope with the grain size, with one peak occurring in positive and the other in negative fields. The significance of the methodology used in the correct interpretation of the results for a given material is discussed.