A measuring setup for testing the mechanical stress dependence of magnetic properties of electrical steels

[Display omitted] •The measuring setup presented in the paper enables testing of the mechanical stress dependence of magnetic properties of electrical steels subjected to both tensile and compressive stresses.•Due to special elliptic shape of the cavities in the sample the nearly uniform stress distribution in the measuring section of the sample has been obtained.•The mechanical system of the yoke head with 2D Cardan gyroscopic mechanism is proposed to test the magnetic characteristics of electrical steel sheets.•The type A uncertainty of measurements does not exceed 0.5% for magnetizing field H amplitude higher than 750 A/m.•The operation of the developed measuring system was validated during the tests of grain-oriented electrical sheets made of M120-27s steel. Measurements of mechanical stress dependence of magnetic properties of electrical steels are significant from both theoretical and application points of view. The paper presents a novel measuring setup for testing the magnetoelastic properties of electrical transformer sheets made of grain-oriented and non-grain-oriented steel. The proposed method takes into consideration the angle between the easy electrical steel magnetization axis and the mechanical stress direction. Due to the innovative 3D self-adjustment mechanism of the yoke position, measurements may be taken for different magnetization strengths and angles. The paper also presents detailed uncertainty analyses and examples of results of magnetoelastic measurements for grain-oriented electrical steel M120-27s. The presented results validate the method and confirm its usability for further detailed studies of mechanical stress dependence of magnetic properties of electrical steels.