Familiarity with National and International Standards is a very valuable resource. When discussions of quality, characteristics and test methods arise the ability to refer easily to the relevant standards saves a lot of repetitive argument. It is usually easiest to discuss how features of a material diverge from a standard than to start from a clean sheet. Standards are revised and updated from time to time and it is advisable to maintain contact with standards bodies so that the standards one may be using are the current ones. The purchase of a full set of British Standards listed as covering most aspects of electrical steels is an expensive undertaking (some hundreds of pounds in 1999, for 18 documents), but the notes given hereafter will guide the reader as to which if not all standards are relevant to his operation. Parties using exclusively grain-oriented steel would not wish to concern themselves with non-oriented specifications, etc. However a familiarity with a wide range of test methods and procedures is worth acquiring and a set of current standards held in one's library is a valuable asset. In this chapter a list is given of the key British Standards which apply and the address of The British Standards Institution.

Inspec keywords: silicon alloys; grain size; iron alloys; standards

Other keywords: grain-oriented steel; British standards institution; International standards; nonoriented specifications; National standards; current standards; electrical steels

Subjects: Microstructure