Microstructure, texture and magnetic properties of strip-cast 1.3% Si non-oriented electrical steels

In this work, the evolution of microstructure, texture and magnetic properties of non-oriented 1.3% silicon steel processed using the twin-roll strip casting was investigated, especially under different solidification structures. A number of microstructures about the as-cast strips show that the initial solidification structure of casting a strip can be controlled by the melt superheats. The microstructures with the average grain size of similar to 100-400 mu m can be obtained in strips when the melt superheats are from 20 to 60 degrees C. A nearly random, diffuse, homogeneous texture under a low melt superheat, but comparatively developed {100} oriented grains are formed under a high melt superheat through the cast strip thickness. The relatively low core loss and high magnetic induction can be obtained in the cold rolled and annealed sheets when increasing the initial grain size of cast-strip. The textures in annealed sheets with coarse initial grain size are characterized by the relatively strong Goss component and {001} fiber but weak gamma-fiber component, which lead to the high permeability. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.