Role of texture before rolling: a research based on texture and magnetic properties of 4.5 wt.% Si non-oriented electrical steel

The evolution of microstructure, texture, and magnetic properties with random texture, near-copper texture, weak near-cube texture, and strong λ fiber (<001>//ND (normal direction)) before rolling of non-oriented electrical steel was studied. Three recrystallized hot bands with different textures but similar grain sizes were prepared by pre-annealing at low-temperature and high-temperature normalization annealing. It was observed that the final annealed products exhibited similar recrystallized microstructures. By contrast, the final annealed product with more λ fiber before rolling exhibited a stronger cube texture. With the λ fiber before rolling becoming stronger, the proportion of {111}<110> deformed matrices became larger, which could be observed in the early recrystallization stage. The overwhelmingly dominant λ orientation nuclei are formed in the {111}<110> deformed matrix and become the dominant texture. Eventually, the best magnetic properties are obtained in the products with strong λ fiber before rolling, corresponding to the strong cube texture and low anisotropy parameter.