Investigation of Primary Recrystallization and Decarbonization with Different Heating Rates of Intermediate Annealing Using Nb-Containing Grain-Oriented Silicon Steel

An Nb-containing grain-oriented silicon steel was produced through double-stage cold rolling in order to investigate the effect of the heating rate during intermediate annealing on primary recrystallization and decarburization behavior. The microstructure and texture were observed and analyzed by an optical microscope and an electron backscatter diffraction system. A transmission electron microscope was used to observe the precipitation behavior of inhibitors. The decarburization effect during intermediate annealing was also calculated and discussed. The results show that primary recrystallization takes place after intermediate annealing. As the heating rate increases, the average grain size decreases gradually. The textures of {411} and {111} were found to be the strongest along the thickness direction in all of the annealed specimens and are mainly surrounded by HEGB and HAGB (> 45 degrees). A large number of inhibitors with the size of 14 similar to 20 nm precipitate are distributed evenly in the matrix. The above results indicate that the higher heating rate during intermediate annealing contributes to both an excellent microstructure and magnetic properties. From the calculation, as the heating rate increases, decarbonization tends to proceed in the insulation stage, and the total amount of carbonization declines.