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Effect of Hot Rolling on Texture, Precipitation,
and Magnetic Properties of Strip-Cast
Grain-Oriented Silicon Steel
Yang Wang,
Yuan-Xiang Zhang, Xiang Lu, Feng Fang, Guang-Ming Cao, Cheng-Gang Li,
Yun-Bo Xu, R. Devesh Kumar Misra, and Guo-Dong Wang

An ultra-low carbon grain-oriented silicon steel as-cast strip is produced by twin-roll strip
casting process, and subsequently subjected to one-pass hot rolling, one-stage cold rolling,
primary annealing, and secondary annealing. The effect of hot rolling process on
microstructure, texture, and inhibitor evolution is studied. It is shown that the precipitation
behavior of AlN particles is significantly affected by the hot rolling temperature and the
optimal precipitation temperature is 1100 8C. On the other hand, the intensity of Goss texture
in hot-rolled sheets is determined by hot rolling reduction, which is limited in the strip casting
process and the hot-rolled Goss texture is relatively weak compared to the conventional
process. The primary annealed Goss texture can originate from the cold rolling process and
this texture is homogeneous through the thickness, besides the inherited hot-rolled Goss
texture mainly presented in the subsurface layer. Thus, relatively strong Goss texture in
primary annealed sheets is obtained. The results indicate that the hot rolling process is an
efficient way to optimize the texture and precipitation in strip-cast silicon steel, and relatively
good magnetic properties can be obtained by the strip casting process.

1. Introduction
Grain-oriented silicon steel is the only one product
manufactured in the steel industry that utilizes the
secondary recrystallization phenomenon.[1] The Goss
grains grow abnormally during high-temperature anneal-
ing and lead to the easy magnetization <001> axis parallel
to the rolling direction. This texture characteristic enables
grain-oriented silicon steels to be used as core materials
for transformers.[2] It is well-known that grain growth
inhibitors are key factors that determine whether the
secondary recrystallization occurs or not.[3] In conven-
tional slab process, the slab should be reheated at high
temperature greater than 1350 8C, in order to dissolve the
coarse precipitates formed during continuous casting, and
then the fine and dispersed inhibitors are formed during
[
] Y. Wang, Y.-X. Zhang, X. Lu, F. Fang, G.-M. Cao, C.-G. Li, Y.-B. Xu,
G.-D. Wang
State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern
University, Shenyang 110819, China
Email: wy069024019@163.com
R. D. K. Misra
Laboratory of Excellence in Advanced Steel Research, Department of
Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, University of
Texas at El Paso, Texas 79968, USA
DOI: 10.1002/srin.201600009
multi-pass hot rolling and hot band annealing.[4] Later on,
two different methods were developed to decrease the
reheating temperature.[5–9] In the first method, Cu was
added to the steel melt and formed a new type of
Cu2S inhibitor with lower solid solution temperature, and
the slab reheating temperature could be decreased to
1200–1280 8C. In the second, the inhibitor control was
abandoned in the hot rolling and annealing processes and
the main inhibitors were produced by nitriding the cold-
rolled sheet during decarburization annealing. The slab
reheating temperature was decreased to 1150–1200 8C, and
is the lowest reheating temperature applied in the steel
industry.
Recently, a twin-roll strip casting process was proposed
to manufacture grain-oriented silicon steels.[10] This
new advanced and energy-efficient technology can pro-
vide a thin steel strip directly from molten steel and
the multi-pass hot rolling with heavy reduction can
be eliminated.[10–13] More importantly, due to rapid
solidification of the as-cast strip, the inhibitors are
precipitated finely or in supersaturated solid solution. It
is not necessary to apply the high-temperature reheating
process. The previous results reported that the micro-
structure, texture, and precipitate distribution in the
as-cast strip is totally different from the conventional
hot-rolled band.[14–15] In order to guarantee the surface
quality of the as-cast strip and the final magnetic

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properties, a single hot rolling followed by strip casting was
needed. Song[16,17] studied the effect of hot rolling
reduction on microstructure, texture, and ductility of
strip-cast silicon steel, and reported that the asymmetrical
hot rolling promoted the formation of Goss texture.
Similarly, Li[18] studied the effect of rolling temperature
on texture and formability of the as-cast strip of Fe–6.5%Si
steel. It can be seen that the previous research mainly
focused on the effect of hot rolling process on the
microstructure and texture, while the precipitation of
inhibitors and final magnetic properties were not studied.
In this study, an ultra-low carbon grain-oriented silicon
steel strip was produced by twin roll strip casting process
and then subjected to different hot rolling process. Next,
the hot-rolled sheets were cold rolled and annealed. The
effect of hot rolling process on inhibitor precipitation,
Goss texture formation, and final magnetic properties was
studied in detail.
2. Experimental Section
A 2.0 mm-thick as-cast strip containing 0.005% C, 3.0% Si,
0.027% Al, 0.2% Mn, 0.0083% N, and 0.02% S was produced
using a laboratory twin roll strip caster, as described in
detail earlier by Wang et al.[14] The superheat in the melt
pool was controlled to 30 8C in order to produce the fine-
grained as-cast strips. Subsequent processing routes are
presented in Table 1. The as-cast strips were reheated to
900, 1000, and 1100 8C and then hot rolled in one pass with
the identical reduction of 35%, (referred as process 1, 4,
and 5). Additionally, to study the Goss texture evolution,
the as-cast strip reheated to 1000 8C was hot rolled with a
reduction of 15 and 25%, respectively (referred as
processes 2 and 3). All the hot-rolled strips were cold
rolled to 0.27 mm via one-stage cold rolling process, and
then annealed at 800 8C for 5 min. The primary annealed
sheet was finally heated to 1200 8C at a rate of 20 8C h1 for
secondary recrystallization.
The microstructure and texture of hot-rolled strips and
primary annealed sheets were studied using electron
Hot rolling Hot rolling Cold rolling
Process temperature reduction reduction
number [8C] [%] [%]
1 900 35 80
2 1000 15 85
3 1000 25 82
4 1000 35 80
5 1100 35 80
Table 1. The processing parameters of strip-cast grain-oriented silicon steel.
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backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The micrographs and
kinds of precipitates were studied using electron probe
microanalyzer (EPMA), and precipitates were statistically
counted in a random selected area of 150 mm2 using
image analyzer (Image J). The magnetic induction at
800 A m1 (B8) and iron losses at 1.7 T, 50 Hz (P1.7/50)
were measured using a single-sheet tester in the rolling
direction of the secondary annealed specimens with
100 mm length and 30 mm width.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. The Effect of Hot Rolling Temperature on the
Precipitation Behavior of Second Phase Particles
Figure 1 shows micrographs of precipitates in hot-rolled
sheets with different hot rolling temperature. When the hot
rolling temperature was 900 8C, the particle density was
very low and the corresponding EDS elemental maps by
EPMA indicated that the main particles were MnS with size
of 100 nm, while the grain growth inhibitor AlN was not
observed. When the rolling temperature was increased to
1000 and 1100 8C, two different types of particles were
found. The first were the coarse particles of MnS and
AlN that were present in combination of size 100 nm.
The other were new fine AlN particles of size 30–60 nm.
Furthermore, the density of fine AlN particles was
significantly greater than coarse compounded particles.
On the other hand, the size and distribution of precipitates
was significantly influenced by the hot rolling tempera-
ture. As shown in Figure 2, the particle density at 1100 and
1000 8C in hot-rolled sheets were 21.9 and 15.4 mm2,
and the corresponding average size of particle was 55.1
and 39.9 nm, respectively. This result indicates that higher
hot rolling temperature promotes the precipitation of AlN
particles.
In order to further investigate the precipitation behavior
of AlN particles in the tested silicon steel, a relative PTT
(precipitation–temperature–time) curve was calculated
based on the traditional nucleation growth kinetics
Thickness of
cold-rolled Primary Secondary
sheet annealing annealing
0.27 mm 800 8C for Heated from 800 to 1200 8C
5 min at a rate of 20 8C h1
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Figure 1. Micrographs and EDS elemental mapping of precipitates in hot-rolled sheets with different hot rolling temperatures. a) 900 8C,
b) 1000 8C, and c) 1100 8C.
theory.[19–21] The black and red lines represented 5 and
95% of the relative phase fraction of AlN precipitated at
dislocations, respectively. (t0 indicates the product of
temperature-independent constant, which cannot be
accurately calculated. However, the relative precipitation
time (lg(t/t0)) that changes with temperature can be
calculated and plotted.) As shown in Figure 3, the PTT
curve exhibited a typical “C” shaped and the nose
temperature was 1090 8C. It is known that the precipita-
tion kinetics of AlN particles is controlled by chemical free-
energy and atomic diffusion. The chemical free-energy was
decreased and activation energy for diffusion was in-
creased with increase in the hot rolling temperature. Thus,
there was an optimal precipitation temperature (nose
temperature) for AlN particles. In our study, the hot-rolled
sheets at 1100 8C had highest particle density, which is in
good agreement with the calculated results, i.e., the nose
temperature was 1090 8C. In addition, the hot rolling
temperature was in the range of 900–1100 8C and the
Figure 2. Size distribution of particles in hot-rolled sheets for
different hot rolling temperatures.
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atomic diffusion played a dominant role in the precipita-
tion of AlN. Therefore, the density of AlN particles in
hot-rolled sheets was increased with increase in hot rolling
temperature. On the other hand, the previous work
reported that MnS particles were precipitated in the
as-cast strip.[15] In view of the spontaneous decrease of
Gibbs-Energy, the following precipitation of AlN during
the hot rolling stage will preferentially occur at the
interface to reduce interface energy, which then gives rise
to the formation of the composite precipitate composed of
MnS and AlN compounds, as shown in Figure 1b and c.
3.2. The Effect of Hot Rolling Reduction on the
Development of Goss Texture
Figure 4 presents the microstructure and texture of hot-
rolled sheets with different hot rolling reduction. The 15%
hot-rolled sheet was composed of coarse ferrite grains with
Figure 3. Relative PTT curves of AlN in experimental silicon steels
with dislocation nucleation mechanism.
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Figure 4. Orientation image maps of all orientations and Goss texture with a deviation of 158, as well as constant w2 ¼ 458 section of the
ODFs of hot-rolled sheets with different hot rolling reductions. a) 15%, b) 25%, and c) 35%.
a slight deviation from the normal direction, which is
similar to the initial solidification microstructure reported
earlier.[16] When the hot rolling reduction increased from
25 to 35%, the microstructure was obviously refined by
severe deformation and recrystallization. On the other
hand, the texture of hot-rolled sheets exhibited a random
texture, for instance, l-fiber inherited from the as-cast
strip and the deformed a-fiber with peaks at {112}<110>
and {111}<110>. Besides, the Goss texture was formed in
the subsurface layer of hot-rolled sheets, and the number
of Goss grain was increased with increase in hot rolling
reduction.
It is well accepted that the Goss nuclei for second
recrystallization was originated in the hot rolling stage due
to the shear deformation caused by high friction between
the rolls and strip surface.[22] In the conventional process,
the thick slabs of 240 mm thickness are continuously hot
rolled via many passes with a total reduction exceeding
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95%, and hence an amount of Goss orientation is formed
due to the severe shear deformation. However, in our
study, the thickness of the as-cast strip was 2 mm. The
hot-rolled process involved only one pass and the total hot
rolling reduction was limited. The intensity of Goss texture
was still very weak even though the hot-rolled reduction
increased to 35%, which is unfavorable for the abnormal
growth of Goss texture compared to the conventional hot
rolling process. However, surprisingly, a relative strong
Goss texture was obtained after cold rolling and primary
annealing, as shown in Figure 5. The amount of Goss
texture was similar to the conventional primary annealed
sheets.
Usually, the hot-rolled Goss texture is almost fully
rotated to the g-fiber during the one-stage cold rolling
process and very small Goss nuclei are survived in the
interior of {111}<112> deformed bands. After subsequent
primary annealing, these Goss nuclei are preferred grown
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Figure 5. Orientation image maps of all orientations and Goss texture with a deviation of 158, as well as constant w2 ¼ 458 section of the
ODFs of primary annealed sheets. a) Process 1, b) process 2, c) process 3, d) process 4, and e) process 5.
due to the special grain boundaries.[22] Nevertheless, the
intensity of the inherited Goss texture becomes weak to
some extent compared to the hot-rolled sheet and the
primary annealed sheets were dominated by g-fiber with a
peak at {111}<112>. Furthermore, this primary annealed
Goss texture inherited from the hot-rolled sheet was also
distributed at the subsurface layer. However, in our study,
the cold rolling reduction was smaller than the conven-
tional process, leading to more hot-rolled Goss texture was
survived at cold rolling and primary annealing. On the
other hand, besides the inheritance of surface layer Goss
grains from the hot-rolled sheets, the center layer of
primary annealed sheets appeared some Goss grains as
well (shown in Figure 5 and circled by black-dotted line),
which implied that these center layer Goss grains may have
formed during subsequent cold rolling and primary
annealing processes. It is known that Goss texture can
be nucleated at the shear bands of the deformed grains and
the formation of the shear bands is related to the initial
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grain size prior to deformation.[23,24] The microstructure of
conventional hot-rolled sheets was fully refined by severe
deformation and dynamic recrystallization. The shear
bands were hardly formed during cold rolling and thus the
Goss texture mainly originated during the hot rolling
process. However, in this study, the hot rolling reduction
was very limited. The relatively coarse hot-rolled grains
may promote the formation of shear bands though the
thickness, resulting in cold-rolled Goss texture appeared
in the center layer of primary annealed sheets.
3.3. The Effect of Hot Rolling Processes on the Secondary
Recrystallization and Magnetic Properties
The precipitation distribution in hot-rolled sheets and the
intensity of Goss texture in primary annealed sheets had
a significant effect on secondary recrystallization and
magnetic properties. The effect of hot rolling process on
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Precipitation in Goss texture in Goss texture in primary

Process number hot-rolled sheets hot-rolled sheets annealed sheets

1 Few coarse MnS – Goss texture fraction: 1.75%

No fine AlN Distributed surface and
center layers
2 – Weak Goss texture Goss texture fraction: 1.04%
Distributed subsurface Distributed surface and
layer center layers
3 – Weak Goss texture Goss texture fraction: 1.43%
Distributed subsurface Distributed surface and
layer center layers
4 High-density fine AlN Weak Goss texture Goss texture fraction: 1.73%
Mean size: 39.9 nm Distributed subsurface Distributed surface and
layer center layers
Density: 15.4 mm2
5 High-density fine AlN – Goss texture fraction: 2.11%
Mean size: 55.1 nm Distributed surface and
center layers
Density: 21.9 mm2
Conventional Process[22,25] High-density fine MnS Strong Goss texture Goss texture fraction: 1.8%
and high-density fine
AlN after hot band Distributed subsurface Mainly distributed
annealing layer subsurface layers

Table 2. Precipitation and Goss texture distribution in hot-rolled or primary annealed sheets.

precipitation and Goss texture is summarized in Table 2.
Figure 6 shows the macrostructure of secondary recrystal-
lized sheets with different hot rolling process. When the
hot rolling temperature was 900 8C (process 1), the AlN
inhibitor was not precipitated (shown in Figure 1a),
the primary recrystallized grains grew normally during
secondary annealing, leading to the absence of secondary
recrystallization (shown in Figure 6a). On the other hand,
the hot rolling reduction significantly affected the second-
ary recrystallization as well. When the hot rolling reduction
was 15% (process 2), the refinement of hot-rolled grains
was inadequate. The relatively coarse grains were inclined

Figure 6. Macrostructure of secondary recrystallization annealed sheet; a) process 1, b) process 2, c) process 3, d) process 4, and
e) process 5.

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Figure 7. Magnetic properties of secondary recrystallization
annealed sheet with different processes.
to form inhomogeneous primary annealed microstructure
(shown in Figure 5b circled by black solid line) and the
relatively coarse primary grains grew easily and preferen-
tially during secondary annealing due to its size advantage.
The secondary Goss grains cannot consume these grains,
resulting in an incomplete secondary recrystallization
(shown in Figure 6b). By contrast, when the hot rolling
reduction was 35% and the hot rolling temperature was
1000 and 1100 8C (processes 4 and 5), the inhibitor
precipitation during hot rolling was suitable, and the
microstructure and texture of primary annealed sheets was
favorable to abnormal growth for Goss grains. Thus, the
secondary recrystallization was completed and the size of
secondary grains up to 10–50 mm.
Figure 7 shows the magnetic properties of secondary
annealed sheets. The magnetic properties were related to
the macrostructure of secondary recrystallization sheets.
The secondary recrystallization in processes 1, 2, and 3 was
absent or incomplete, and the magnetic induction B8 was
1.52, 1.55, and 1.62 T, respectively. The corresponding core
loss P1.7/50 was 2.42, 2.66, and 2.41 W kg1, respectively.
While, for processes 4 and 5, the secondary recrystalliza-
tion was completed and the magnetic induction B8 was
obvious increased to 1.73 and 1.85 T. The corresponding
core loss P1.7/50 was decreased to 2.09 and 1.68 W kg1. The
optimal B8 was comparable to the conventional process
reported by Guo[26] (process number 0 in Figure 7). In
addition, the core loss was relatively high, even though an
optimized hot rolling process was applied, which may be
related to the elimination of high-temperature pure
annealing in this study.
4. Conclusions
1. The nose temperature of AlN precipitation was
1100 8C in the ultra-low-carbon silicon steel, and
the particle density was increased with increase in hot
rolling temperature from 900 to 1100 8C.
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2. As the hot rolling reduction was increased, the
microstructure was refined and the Goss texture was
increased. However, in the strip casting process, the hot
rolling reduction was limited and the hot-rolled Goss
texture was relatively weak compared to the conven-
tional process.
3. The primary annealed Goss texture was composed of
two parts: the first part originated during hot rolling and
was mainly distributed in the subsurface layer. The
other was formed during subsequent cold rolling and
was distributed homogeneously through the thickness.
4. The secondary recrystallization and magnetic proper-
ties were significantly affected by the hot rolling
process, and the optimal magnetic induction B8 of
strip-cast grain-oriented silicon steel was 1.85 T.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51174059,
51374002, 51404155, and U1260204), the Fundamental
Research Funds for the Central Universities (N130407003),
the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in
University (NCET-13-0111).
Received: January 10, 2016; Revised: March 15, 2016;
Published online: April 4, 2016
Keywords: grain-oriented silicon steels; strip casting; hot
rolling; Goss texture; magnetic properties
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