Influence of thermomechanical processing on shear bands formation and magnetic properties of a 3% Si non-oriented electrical steel

The effect of thermomechanical processing on the formation of shear bands and on the magnetic properties of a 3.0 wt% silicon non-oriented steel was investigated by hot rolling samples with different thicknesses at different temperatures, in order to obtain a variation in hot band grain size and cold strain. All the samples were processed in a single-stage cold rolling and finally annealed at 1020 °C. It was found that the increase of the hot band grain size decreases the γ fiber volume fraction and increases the η fiber volume fraction after the final annealing. The increase of the cold strain strongly contributed to this result. A good combination of intense generation of shear bands, and proper crystallographic texture, due to higher nucleation of grains with favorable orientations to magnetization in these bands, can be obtained for the samples hot rolled at 1000 and 1120 °C and submitted to cold strain of 64.3% and 72.2% respectively. However the best combination of B50, W15/60 and μr can be obtained by hot rolling the samples at 1000 °C to the thickness of 1.4 mm, corresponding to 64.3% of cold strain.

► Effect of processing on the magnetic properties of a non-oriented electrical steel.
► Shear band generation during cold rolling is essential to reach a favorable texture.
► Great magnetic properties obtained by hot rolling at 1000 °C and 64.3% cold strain.