Effects of Two-step Annealing on Texture and Magnetic Properties by Addition of Co, Mo, or Ni in Silicon Steel

In 3Si–1.4Al electrical steel with addition of Co, Mo or Ni, the texture of hot bands is almost random except γ fiber which is dominant. After cold reduction, the texture shows the typical (111)//ND and (110)//RD fibers. When cold rolled sheets are annealed, it is clear that γ fiber of {111}‹110› and {111}‹112› decreases significantly, while, on the contrary, Goss texture increases but cube texture is not changed. Two-step annealing process was observed to be effective to increase grain size and decrease γ fiber texture resulting in lowering iron loss and its anisotropy. The combination of increasing grain size and decreasing γ texture by two-step annealing was able to improve magnetic properties.