On the metallurgical control of texture sharpness and related magnetic properties in grain-oriented silicon-iron

Abstract

The final Goss texture sharpness and the related magnetic behaviour of a grain-oriented silicon-iron sheet is, in the end, controlled by its primary recrystallization texture at final thickness. In spite of the general idea that attributes the final Goss texture sharpness control to the precision of the Goss nuclei present at that stage, it is becoming clear that the main metallurgical role is played instead by the Goss nuclei surrounding texture. This texture selects the secondary recrystallization (SR) grains in a specific Goss-oriented spread range by a mechanism comparable, in principle, to the ‘lock-and-key’ enzymatic selective catalysis mechanism, well known in biochemistry. The microstructure and magnetic behaviour differences between conventional grain-oriented (CGO) and super-oriented (HiB) sheets, as well as between various final sheet thickness products, are explained in this framework.