Texture evolution during skew cold rolling and annealing of a non-oriented electrical steel containing 0.9 wt% silicon

A novel rolling technique, i.e., skew rolling, was applied to a non-oriented electrical steel containing 0.9 wt% Si, aiming at altering the texture of the final sheets that usually contain the magnetically unfavorable <111>//ND fiber after conventional rolling and annealing. The texture after skew cold rolling was compared to those obtained from conventional rolling and cross rolling and significantly different textures were observed. The cold-rolled steel sheets were then annealed and the texture evolution was investigated using a quasi in situ electron backscatter diffraction technique, i.e., tracking the microtexture of the same area at various holding times at the same temperature. The development of the recrystallization microstructure and microtexture (nucleation and grain growth) was characterized and the effect of skew rolling on the final texture was studied. The mechanisms governing the formation of the final recrystallization texture, e.g., preferential nucleation and selective growth, were elucidated.