Formation and Control of Sharp {100} <021> Texture in Electrical Steel Original Research Article

The formation and control of sharp {100} <021> texture in electrical steels were experimentally investigated and the main influencing factors were discussed. The steels of a base composition of Fe-3.2% Si with a certain amount of carbon and manganese were employed to obtain {100} <021> texture through one stage cold rolling and annealing. The results indicated that by careful control of the amount of alloying elements and the annealing temperature, a relatively sharp {100} <021> texture in fairly thick sheets is obtained. After primary recrystallization, a weak component of {100} <021> and strong component of (447) <18 11 4> texture, which constitute Σ9 coincidence site lattice boundaries with a common <011> axis for 39° difference, are presented. This special grain boundary promotes the growth of {100} <021> grains in addition to the lower surface energy of (100) grains during secondary recrystallization.