Revealing the recrystallization behavior of an excellent strip casting 4.5 wt% Si non-oriented electrical steel

Abstract An excellent 4.5 wt%Si non-oriented electrical steel was fabricated by warm rolling and isothermal annealing of twin-roll cast strip. The detailed evolution of microstructure and texture was studied using the combination of electron back-scattering diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) for revealing the recrystallization behavior. The favorable {100}〈013〉 nuclei originate in the shear bands within deformed {111}⟨11-2⟩ and {110}⟨1-10⟩ grains. Based on the EBSD analysis, oriented nucleation is the predominant mechanism for the formation of strong {100}⟨013⟩ texture. The rearrangement of dislocations and cell transformation to sub-grains were characterized. The mechanisms of (sub-)grain coalescence, as well as strain induced grain boundary migration, take effect simultaneously, during the nucleation.