Effect of rare-earth yttrium and cold rolling reduction rate on texture evolution and magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel

The impact of rare-earth yttrium and cold-rolling reduction rate on the texture evolution and magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel is investigated. The experimental results clearly demonstrate that the influencing mechanism of rare-earth yttrium on texture evolution varies at different stages. During the stage of normalization and annealing, the second-phase particles with yttrium precipitate at the grain boundaries of brass-oriented grains, pinning the grain boundaries and inhibiting the development of brass components. During the cold rolling stage, the purification of rare earth yttrium significantly reduces the shear band density of cold-rolled steel. Consequently, the experimental steel with yttrium exhibits larger and more uniform grain size after recrystallization annealing. During the recrystallization stage, the nucleation energy of experimental steel with yttrium is reduced, which facilitates the nucleation of low-energy {100} and {110} grains, and greatly limits the growth of γ-recrystallized grains, forming strong cube and Goss textures after recrystallization annealing. The combination of these effects contributes to the superior magnetic properties of the non-oriented electrical steel with yttrium. The influence of cold rolling reduction rate on the magnetic properties of non-oriented silicon steel needs to be comprehensively considered in terms of the recrystallized grain size, texture, and sample thickness. The samples with higher cold-rolling reduction rate have better magnetic properties due to the reduction in eddy current losses caused by thickness reduction, which offsets the adverse effects of smaller grain size and more γ texture components on magnetic properties.