On abnormal growth of {2 1 0}<0 0 1> grain in grain-oriented silicon steel

•The abnormal growth of {2 1 0}<0 0 1> grain was observed in grain oriented silicon steel with Cu2S as inhibitor.•The mechanism of {2 1 0}<0 0 1> grain abnormal growth is attributed to the number advantage of characteristic grain boundaries (HE and CSL boundary) and the relative low surface free energy.•The secondary recrystallization of {2 1 0}<0 0 1> is not harmful to the magnetic properties (B8 = 1.9 T, P17 = 1.02 W/kg) in this grain oriented silicon steel.

The mechanism responsible for secondary recrystallization is still disputed in grain oriented silicon steel. This is mainly related to the complexly of itself. In this work, the occurrence of {2 1 0}<0 0 1> texture through secondary recrystallization was observed in the grain oriented silicon steel with Cu2S as main inhibitor. In order to elucidate the abnormal growth of {2 1 0}<0 0 1> grain, texture evolutions in Fe–3% Si–0.5% Cu steel were investigated using micro-texture analysis. In addition, the {2 1 0}<0 0 1> texture was used to validate the current mechanisms of secondary recrystallization. The result indicates that the surface energy plays a significant role in the selection of secondary recrystallization besides the characteristics boundaries which are linked to high mobility.