Effect of hot strip annealing on the microstructure of a ferritic non-oriented electrical steel

Non-oriented electrical steels are an important material in electrical drives and generators. Therefore, reducing magnetic losses and increasing magnetization of the material in application is necessary. The magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels are strongly related to grain size and texture. Hot strip annealing is one of the processing steps, which can significantly modify the grain size and texture in the hot strip. Consequently, it affects grain size and texture of the fully processed material. In this study, the grain size evolution for different hot strip annealing temperatures and annealing duration is examined for a non-oriented electrical steel containing 2.4 wt% Si. A 1 mm hot strip with a microstructure with elongated, non recrystallized structure is used. © 2019 Verlag Stahleisen GmbH. All rights reserved.