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The deteriorated plasticity arising from the insoluble precipitates may lead to cracks during the rolling of FeCrAl alloys. The microstructure evolution and hot deformation behavior of an FeCrAl alloy were investigated in the temperature range of 750–1200 °C and strain rate range of 0.01–10 s−1. The flow stress of the FeCrAl alloy decreased with an increasing deformation temperature and decreased strain rate during hot working. The thermal deformation activation energy was determined to be 329.49 kJ/mol based on the compression test. Then, the optimal hot working range was given based on the established hot processing maps. The hot processing map revealed four small instability zones. The optimal working range for the material was identified as follows: at a true strain of 0.69, the deformation temperature should be 1050–1200 °C, and the strain rate should be 0.01–0.4 s−1. The observation of key samples of thermally simulated compression showed that discontinuous dynamic recrystallization started to occur with the temperate above 1000 °C, leading to bended grain boundaries. When the temperature was increased to 1150 °C, the dynamic recrystallization resulted in a microstructure composed of fine and equiaxed grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-borated stainless steels prepared via ingot casting and hot rolling have a relatively low ductility, which limits their use as structural and functional materials in fuel reprocessing systems. In this study, 2.1 wt.% B stainless steel composites were prepared by a novel method of hot-roll bonding and solution treatment using an ingot casting slab and two layers of boron-free stainless steel. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of solution treatment on the interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of high-borated stainless steel composites. As expected, a high-borated stainless steel slab containing many brittle ceramic (Cr, Fe)2 B-type particles was successfully hot-rolled and bonded with boron-free stainless steel slabs. Furthermore, metallurgical bonding was realized via the formation of ~ 50 μm wide transition regions by solution treatment, for which the mechanism was found to consist of recrystallization and diffusion-controlled reactions. The formation of transition regions enhanced the geometrical restriction effect. Neither delamination nor cracking was observed along the interfaces during a bending test of the composite plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, four kinds of initial Goss textures with different deviation angles (0°, 5°, 10°, and 15°) are obtained by controlling the included angles between the longitudinal directions of rectangular cutting specimens and the initial rolling direction of the raw material. Then, 0.05 mm thick grain‐oriented silicon steels are fabricated by cold rolling and primary recrystallization annealing. Effects of initial textures on the microstructure and texture evolutions and magnetic properties are investigated in detail. Compared with sharp {111}<112> in the cold rolling sheet with initial exact Goss, the deviated Goss favors the formation of strong {111}<112> + weak {h11}<1/h 1 2> textures. After annealing, sharp {210}<001> + medium {110}<001> textures develop as a result of the small initial deviation, while larger initial deviations contribute to the {310}<001> texture. In addition, the average grain sizes are also related to recrystallization textures. Consequently, the distinct recrystallization microstructures and textures result in the differences of magnetic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique bimodal microstructure is proposed to improve the mechanical properties of low‐carbon steels produced by twin‐roll casting. The ultrafine inclusions (0.2–2.0 μm) are produced in the as‐cast matrix. A high proportion of ultrafine acicular ferrite (UFAF) is induced due to these inclusions by controlling the critical processing factor, i.e., the cooling rate during γ → α transformation process. Therefore, heterogeneous microstructure is characterized by UFAF cluster, and network‐like coarse polygonal ferrite (PF) with a bimodal grain size distribution is engineered, significantly increasing the strength while not obviously damaging the plasticity. In addition, a new acicular ferrite (AF) heterogeneous nucleation mechanism is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

0.05–0.15 mm-thick ultra-thin grain-oriented silicon steel sheets were successfully produced by a novel processing route including strip casting, hot rolling, normalizing, two-stage cold rolling with intermediate annealing, primary recrystallization annealing and secondary recrystallization annealing. The evolutions of microstructure, texture and inhibitor along the processing were briefly investigated. The results showed that the initial Goss orientation originated due to the heterogenous nucleation of δ-ferrite grains during solidification. Because of the lack of shear deformation, only a few Goss grains were observed in the hot rolled sheet. After the first cold rolling and intermediate annealing, Goss texture was enhanced and distributed in the whole thickness. A small number of Goss grains having a high fraction of high energy boundaries exhibited in the primary recrystallization annealed sheet. A large number of fine and dispersed MnS and AlN and a few co-precipitates MnS and AlN with the size range of 10–70 nm were also observed. Interestingly, a well-developed secondary recrystallization microstructure characterized by 10–60 mm grains and a sharp Goss texture were finally produced in the 0.05–0.15 mm-thick ultra-thin sheets. A magnetic induction B 8 of 1.72–1.84 T was obtained. Another new finding was that a few {2 3 0}〈0 0 1〉 and {2 1 0}〈1 2 7〉 grains also can grow up abnormally because of the high fraction of high energy boundaries and the size and number advantage, respectively. These non-Goss grains finally deteriorated the magnetic properties of the ultra-thin sheets. In addition, low surface energies of {hk0} planes may also contribute to the abnormal growth of Goss, {2 3 0}〈0 0 1〉 and {2 1 0}〈1 2 7〉 grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various primary recrystallization microstructures and textures were produced in a twin-roll cast grain-oriented electrical steel by employing different routes. The relationship between the primary recrystallization microstructure and texture and the abnormal growth of secondary Goss grains was investigated. The results show that the cold rolling reductions have a significant influence on secondary recrystallization by changing the primary recrystallization microstructure. Sheet processed by single-stage cold rolling with 88.3% reduction displayed the poorest secondary recrystallization microstructure as it contained many small equiaxed grains. By contrast, the employment of two-stage cold rolling markedly improved the secondary recrystallization microstructure. In the case of two moderate reductions of 65.2% and 66.3%, dense deformation substructures formed during both the first and second cold rolling, leading to a homogeneous primary recrystallization microstructure together with a strong γ-fiber texture. In this way, a suitable secondary recrystallization microstructure consisting of large Goss grains was produced. In the case of the inappropriate reductions, many large λ- and α-grains in the primary recrystallization matrix blocked the growth of secondary Goss grains along the transverse direction, resulting in a poor secondary recrystallization microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure and texture evolution along the processing was investigated with a particular focus on the secondary recrystallization behavior in a 0.23 mm-thick twin-roll cast grain-oriented electrical steel. A striking feature is that Goss orientation originated during twin-roll casting as a result of shear deformation and it was further enhanced during hot rolling and normalizing. After primary recrystallization annealing, a homogeneous microstructure associated with a sharp γ-fiber texture was produced. During secondary recrystallization annealing, the γ-fiber texture was first strengthened and weakened with increasing temperature prior to the onset of secondary recrystallization. Goss grains always exhibited more 20–45° misoriented boundaries than the matrix. The matrix was quite stable during secondary recrystallization with the aid of dense inhibitors. Finally, a complete secondary recrystallization microstructure consisting of large Goss grains was produced. The grain boundary characteristics distribution indicated that the high energy model was responsible for the abnormal growth of Goss grains under the present conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of Widmanstätten austenite was studied in strip cast grain-oriented silicon steel. The microstructure was investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The orientations of the ferrite, Widmanstätten austenite, and martensite were determined using electron backscatter diffraction. The Widmanstätten austenite exhibits a lath-like shape and nucleates directly on the ferrite grain boundaries. This differs significantly from earlier work on duplex stainless steels. The orientation relationship between the Widmanstätten austenite and the parent ferrite is closer to Kurdjumov-Sachs than to Nishiyama-Wassermann. The ferrite boundaries migrate so as to accommodate the habit planes of the laths, leading to the presence of zigzag boundaries in the as-cast strip. Carbon partitioning into the Widmanstätten austenite and silicon partitioning into the parent ferrite were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 0.1 mm-thick grain-oriented silicon steel sheet was successfully produced using strip casting and three-stage cold rolling method. The microstructure, texture and inhibitor evolution during the processing was briefly analyzed. It was found that Goss texture was absent in the hot rolled sheet because of the lack of shear deformation. After normalizing, a large number of dispersed MnS precipitates with the size range of 15–90 nm were produced. During first cold rolling, dense shear bands were generated in the deformed ferrite grains, resulting in the intense Goss texture after first intermediate annealing. The microstructure was further refined and homogenized during the subsequent cold rolling and annealing processes. After primary recrystallization annealing, a homogeneous microstructure consisting of fine and equiaxed grains was produced while the associated texture was characterized by a strong γ-fiber texture. Finally, a complete secondary recrystallization microstructure consisting of entirely large Goss grains was produced. The magnetic induction B 8 and iron loss P 10/400 was 1.79 T and 6.9 W/kg, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a 0.71 wt%Si+0.44 wt%Al as-cast strip was produced by novel twin-roll casting. Some as-cast samples were respectively reheated and hot rolled at different temperatures in order to obtain different microstructure prior to cold rolling and annealing. The effects of the hot rolled microstructure on microstructure, texture evolution and magnetic properties were investigated in detail. A coarse deformed microstructure with λ-fiber texture was formed after hot rolling at 850–1050 °C, finally leading to an inhomogeneous recrystallization microstructure with strong λ-fiber, Goss and extremely weak γ-fiber texture. By contrast, a fine transformed microstructure was formed after hot rolling at 1150–1250 °C, finally leading to a fine and homogeneous recrystallization microstructure with stronger α-fiber, γ-fiber and much weaker λ-fiber texture. It should be noted that both the magnetic induction and core loss non-monotonically decreased or increased according to the hot rolling temperature. The unfavorable α-fiber and γ-fiber textures in the annealed sheets were much weaker than those of the conventional products regardless of the hot rolling temperature, thus contributing to a much higher magnetic induction. However, the average grain size in the annealed sheets was much lower than those of the conventional products regardless of the hot rolling temperature, thus leading to a higher core loss except the case of 1050 °C. Hence, it is underscored that better integrated magnetic properties than those of the conventional products can be obtained by optimizing the hot rolled microstructure to produce final desirable recrystallization microstructure and texture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low silicon non-oriented electrical steel is produced using a novel strip casting processing route. The focus is on investigating the effects of coiling temperature after hot rolling on microstructure, texture evolution, and magnetic properties. A fine microstructure with weak λ-fiber texture is formed after coiling at 650 °C. By contrast, a much coarser microstructure with a much stronger λ-fiber texture is produced after coiling at 750 °C. After cold rolling and annealing, a fine and inhomogeneous recrystallization microstructure dominated by mild λ-fiber, α-fiber, and γ-fiber recrystallization texture is formed in the case of coiling at 650 °C. By contrast, a coarse and inhomogeneous recrystallization microstructure characterized by strong Goss, α-fiber, and weak λ-fiber together with extremely weak γ-fiber recrystallization texture is formed in the case of coiling at 750 °C. Much lower iron loss and higher magnetic induction are obtained in the latter case as a result of the more desirable recrystallization microstructure and texture. It underscores that the relatively higher temperature of coiling has a similar effect as the conventional hot-band normalizing. Hence, the hot-band normalizing might be omitted in the fabrication of high-performance non-oriented electrical steels using this novel and compact strip casting production route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An equiaxed grained as-cast strip and a columnar grained as-cast strip was produced by using twin-roll strip casting, respectively. Both as-cast strips mainly containing 0.71 wt%Si and 0.44 wt%Al were cold rolled and annealed with or without the hot rolling prior to cold rolling. Microstructure, texture evolution along the whole processing routes and the magnetic properties were investigated in detail. It was found that the equiaxed grained strip was characterized by almost random texture while the columnar grained strip was dominated by strong λ-fiber (<001>‖ND) texture. After cold rolling and annealing, all the final sheets of both the as-cast strips showed extremely weak γ-fiber (<111>‖ND) recrystallization texture. In addition, the finally annealed sheets of the equiaxed grained strip were dominated by relatively weak λ-fiber and strong Goss ({110}<001>) recrystallization texture while those of the columnar grained strip were dominated by much stronger λ-fiber and much weaker Goss recrystallization texture regardless of whether the hot rolling was adopted before cold rolling, thus the former showed much lower magnetic induction than the latter. On the other hand, even though the finally annealed sheets of the equiaxed grained strip showed a little more homogeneous recrystallization microstructure with a little bigger grain size than those of the columnar grained strip in the case of no hot rolling, a much higher iron loss was displayed. By contrast, in the case of hot rolling, the former exhibited a little lower iron loss than the latter as a result of the more significant increase in grain size and λ-fiber recrystallization texture. The introduction of the hot rolling could increase the grain size, strengthen λ-fiber texture and weaken Goss texture of the finally annealed sheets of both the as-cast strips, leading to a much improvement in both the magnetic induction and iron loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, evolution of microstructure and texture in non-oriented electrical steels along novel strip casting route and conventional route are comparatively investigated in detail. It demonstrates the similar and important role of the microstructure and texture prior to cold rolling to finally obtain desirable recrystallization microstructure and texture in both routes. In both routes, a high intensity of cube-fiber texture and a low intensity of γ-fiber texture can be acquired in hot strips by optimizing the hot rolling and thermal treatment parameters. Accordingly, after cold rolling and annealing, a lower intensity of γ-fiber texture together with a higher intensity of cube-fiber texture, which are favorable for high-permeability materials, can be obtained in both routes. The desired large grain size in the finally annealed materials to obtain low magnetic losses may be gained by choosing appropriate annealing conditions after the first stage of recrystallization. The features of microstructure and texture are similar at comparable stages. The main differences in the regarded different processing routes are in the practical efforts. The detailed results and deeply corresponding discussion on how the microstructure and texture develop during cold rolling and annealing in differently processed samples will be given in the future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently a significant interest in extending the application of novel strip casting technology to a wide range of high strength steels because it allows strip to be cast directly from the liquid metal with minimal rolling. In view of the current interest in developing strip casting technology, we explore here the structure-property relation in extra-low carbon steel, with particular emphasis on an important parameter, the rolling temperature after reheating. The as-cast strip exhibited continuous yielding behavior, significantly lower yield ratio and higher elongation than hot rolled sheets. Coarse and recovered microstructure with Lüders-like deformation bands was formed when the reheating temperature was in the range of 800-900 °C and followed by one-pass hot rolling, while coarse-fine mixed microstructure and fine and homogeneous microstructure was formed at 950 and 1000 °C, respectively. These differences in microstructure led to a transition from continuous yielding to discontinuous yielding with increase in reheating temperature from 800 to 1000 °C and followed by hot rolling. The present study underscores that a good combination of yield strength and elongation that is comparable to conventional hot rolled sheets can be successfully obtained through optimization of hot rolling temperature after reheating in the strip casting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 0.27 mm-thick grain-oriented silicon steel sheet with extra-low carbon was successfully produced by a novel processing route including strip casting, normalizing, two-stage cold rolling with an intermediate annealing, primary annealing, and secondary recrystallization annealing. The evolutions of microstructure and texture along the whole processing route were investigated with a special emphasis on the effects of two-stage cold rolling schedule. It was found that Goss orientation originated in the first cold rolling due to shear banding and relatively strong Goss texture evolved through the whole thickness after intermediate annealing. This is significantly different from the results in conventional process in which the origin of Goss texture is in the hot rolling stage and Goss texture only develops below the sheet surface. Besides, it was found that cold rolling schedule had significant influences on microstructure homogeneity, evolution of λ-fiber texture in primary annealed state and, thus, on secondary recrystallization. In case of appropriate cold rolling schedule, a homogeneous microstructure with Goss texture, relatively strong γ-fiber texture and medium α-fiber texture was observed in the primary annealed strip. Although Goss texture in primary annealed state was much weaker than that in two-stage route in conventional process, a perfect secondary recrystallization microstructure was produced and the magnetic induction B was as high as 1.85 T. By contrast, when the cold rolling schedule was inappropriate, the primary annealed strips exhibited inhomogeneous microstructure, together with weak γ-fiber texture, medium α-fiber and λ-fiber texture. Finally, the sheets showed incomplete secondary recrystallization microstructure in which a large number of fine grains still existed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe–6.5 wt% Si alloy doped with cerium is fabricated by twin-roll casting. Ce 2 O 2 S precipitates in the melt and acts as the efficient nucleation agent, leading to a refined solidification microstructure. The tensile ductility of this as-cast strip significantly reaches up to 56.8% at 600 °C, which is superior to the 22.8% of the as-cast strip undoped with cerium. The much more uniform and finer solidification microstructure along with the strengthened grain boundary is inferred to result in the dramatic improvement in tensile ductility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 0.23 mm thick grain-oriented silicon steel sheet was successfully produced based on strip casting and two-stage cold rolling route. The evolutions of microstructure and texture along the complete processing route were briefly investigated. It was shown that the as-cast strip was composed of coarse ferrite grains and martensite, and the texture was mainly characterized by strong {001} $\langle 0vw\rangle $ texture. Goss texture was absent in the hot-rolled strip, which was distinct from the well accepted results that Goss texture had its origin during hot rolling. After the cycle of the first-stage cold rolling, an intermediate annealing, the second-stage cold rolling, and a primary annealing, the strip exhibited a fully recrystallized microstructure with a weak \alpha $ -fiber texture and a relatively strong \gamma $ -fiber texture. Goss texture was not observed through the thickness of the primary annealed strip. This was significantly different from the previous results that Goss texture was the most populous component in the primary recrystallization texture of two-stage route in conventional process. After secondary recrystalization annealing, the magnetic induction of the sheet was as high as 1.84 T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5 mm-thick 6.5 wt.% Si electrical steel sheets were produced by twin-roll strip casting, hot rolling, warm rolling, and annealing. A detailed study of the microstructure and texture evolution at different processing stages was carried out by optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The initial as-cast strip showed strong columnar grains and pronounced $\langle 001\rangle$ //normal direction (ND) texture. The hot rolled sheet with an inhomogeneous microstructure demonstrated slightly weakened $\langle 001\rangle$ //ND texture. The morphology of the warm rolling microstructure could be classified into two types. One was characterized by large amounts of in-grain shear bands (0.5 mm-thick sheet), whereas the other was constituted of the mixture of newly recrystallized grains and severely deformed grains (0.15–0.3 mm-thick sheets). The warm rolling texture was dominated by $\langle 110\rangle$ //rolling direction and $\langle 111\rangle$ //ND textures. The intensities of the $\langle 111\rangle$ //ND textures were higher in the 0.15–0.3 mm-thick warm rolled sheets. After annealing, the 0.5 mm-thick sheet showed $\langle 001\rangle$ //ND, parallel $\alpha$ -fiber, and very weak $\langle 111\rangle$ //ND textures, whereas the 0.15–0.3 mm-thick sheets presented strong $\langle 111\rangle$ //ND texture. The magnetic inductions of the 0.3 and 0.5 mm-thick sheets were superior to those of the corresponding CVD products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe-6.5 wt% Si non-oriented electrical steel sheets with a thickness of 0.50 mm were produced by using a new processing route: strip casting followed by hot rolling, intermediate temperature (150–850 °C) rolling and final annealing. The present study focused on exploring the effects of rolling temperature varying from 150 to 850 °C on the microstructure and texture evolution, the formability and final magnetic properties. The microstructure and texture evolution at the various processing steps were investigated in detail by using OM, XRD, EBSD and TEM. It was found that the formability during rolling, the microstructure and texture before and after annealing and final magnetic properties highly depended on rolling temperature. The formability during rolling was gradually improved with increasing rolling temperature due to the slipping of dislocation. In particular, the rolling temperature dominated the formation of in-grain shear bands in the rolled microstructure, which played an important role in the development of final recrystallization microstructure and texture. In the case of lower temperature (150–450 °C) rolling, an inhomogeneous microstructure with a large amount of in-grain shear bands was formed in the rolled sheets, which finally resulted in a fine and inhomogeneous annealing microstructure dominated by mild λ-fiber texture composed of cube and {001}〈210〉 components and α*-fiber texture concentrated on {115}〈5–10 1〉 component. By contrast, in the case of higher temperature (650–850 °C) rolling, a relatively homogeneous microstructure without in-grain shear bands was formed instead in the rolled sheets, which finally led to a coarse and relatively homogeneous annealing microstructure characterized by strong α-fiber and γ-fiber texture. Accordingly, on the whole, both the magnetic induction (B 8 and B 50 ) and iron loss (P 15/50 and P 10/400 ) decreased with raising rolling temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, a regular grade GO sheet was produced successively by strip casting, hot rolling, normalizing annealing, two-stage cold rolling with intermediate annealing, primary recrystallization annealing, secondary recrystallization annealing and purification. The aim of this paper was to characterize the evolution of microstructure, texture and inhibitor along the new processing route by comprehensive utilization of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that a fine microstructure with the ferrite grain size range of 7–12 μm could be obtained in the primary recrystallization annealed sheet though a very coarse microstructure was produced in the initial as-cast strip. The main finding was that the “texture memory” effect on Goss texture started on the through-thickness intermediate annealed strip after first cold rolling, which was not similar to the “texture memory” effect on Goss texture starting on the surface layers of the hot rolled strip in the conventional production route. As a result, the origin of Goss nuclei capable of secondary recrystallization lied in the grains already presented in Goss orientation in the intermediate annealed strip after first cold rolling. Another finding was that fine and dispersive inhibitors (mainly AlN) were easy to be produced in the primary recrystallization microstructure due to the initial rapid solidification during strip casting and the subsequent rapid cooling, and the very high temperature reheating usually used before hot rolling in the conventional production route could be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 0.3 mm thick non-oriented 6.5 wt.% Si electrical steel sheet doped with cerium is produced by twin-roll strip casting, hot rolling, warm rolling and annealing. A detailed study of the cerium precipitates in the as-cast strip, microstructure and texture evolution at different processing stages is carried out by electron probe micro-analysis, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron backscattered diffraction analysis. Grain interior distributing precipitates identified as Ce-oxides, Ce-oxysulfides and Ce-phosphides, and boundary distributing Ce-oxides and Ce-phosphides are observed in the as-cast strip. The initial as-cast strip is characterized by a much finer solidification microstructure and dominated by obvious < 001 >//ND texture through the strip thickness. After hot and warm rolling, inhomogeneous microstructure containing large amounts of in-grain shear bands is characterized by mixed < 110 >//RD and < 111 >//ND textures. The texture of the annealed sheet with a relatively large average grain size is far more optimized by the domination of the beneficial cube, rotated cube, {001}< 120 > to {001}< 130 > and Goss texture components, and the elimination of the detrimental γ-fiber texture, leading to a superior magnetic induction and improved iron loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructural and electrical properties of thick-film resistors (R-311-A, R-312-A and R-313-A, ESL) fired on oxide/oxide composites were investigated with the purpose of determining the compatibility of these resistor materials with the new substrates. Normally, these resistor materials were developed for firing on alumina ceramic. Possible interactions between the thick-film resistors and the substrates were studied by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. The sheet resistivities and resistance–temperature characteristic of the resistors fired on different substrates were measured. The results indicate that interactions between the alumina substrate and the resistor layer were not observed. However, at the interface between the composites (matrix) and the resistor layer an obvious transition layer is detected. In addition, the sheet resistivities on composites substrates are generally lower than that on alumina. Moreover, the resistors fired on alumina show a positive resistance–temperature characteristic (TCR) from 25 °C to 500 °C, while the TCRs for the resistors fired on the composites substrates are negative. Microstructural analysis and thermal expansion coefficient testing show that the underlying substrate strongly influences the final characteristics of the resistors in two ways: through chemical interaction and thermal expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 0.23 mm-thick grain-oriented silicon steel sheet was successfully produced by a new process including strip casting, hot rolling, normalizing, two-stage cold rolling with an intermediate annealing, primary annealing and secondary recrystallization annealing. Microstructure, texture and inhibitor evolutions were briefly investigated. It was shown that Goss texture was absent in the hot rolled strip. After normalizing, a number of finely dispersed MnS precipitates with a diameter of 20–80 nm were formed. The primary annealed strip exhibited fully recrystallized microstructure with the average grain size of 13 μm, together with weak α-fiber and relatively strong and uniform γ-fiber texture. However, the Goss texture was not observed, which was significantly different from previous results that the Goss texture was the most populous component in the primary recrystallization texture of two-stage route. After secondary recrystallization annealing, very large grains with a grain size of 6–40 mm were formed and the magnetic induction B 8 was as high as 1.84 T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A grain-oriented silicon steel as-cast strip was produced by twin-roll strip casting. Then the as-cast strip was symmetrically and asymmetrically hot rolled, respectively. The microstructure and texture evolution was investigated by a combination of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron backscattered diffraction methods. The microstructure of the as-cast strip consisted of ferrite matrix and martensite, and the texture was characterized by pronounced {001} 〈0vw〉 fiber texture in the outer layers and nearly random texture in the inner layers. After symmetric hot rolling, the microstructure was composed of deformed ferrite grains, proeutectoid ferrite grains and pearlite. The texture was characterized by pronounced {001} 〈0vw〉 fiber texture in the outer layers and mild γ-fiber texture in the inner layers. By contrast, when asymmetric hot rolling was applied, considerably dispersive proeutectoid ferrite and pearlite and relatively strong Goss texture were observed, together with strong {001} 〈0vw〉 fiber texture in the outer layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) Nextel™ 440 fiber-reinforced aluminosilicate (N440/AS) ceramic matrix composites with fugitive carbon coatings were fabricated by a sol–gel process. Effects of the coatings on the strength improvement of the composites were investigated. Three-point bending tests were performed on samples in three conditions (as-received, with carbon interface, and with carbon removal, i.e., with fugitive interface). Results showed that the carbon/fugitive interface played a key role in the strength improvement of the composites. Three-point flexural strength of the composites with carbon interface was approximately 3.5 times that of as-received ones. Microstructure analysis revealed that the interfacial gaps formed following carbon removal were distinct, and the strength of the composites with fugitive interface was about 3.3 times that of as-received ones. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: AlB2 is used as a sintering additive to densify ZrB2 ceramics. The AlB2 phase plays a positive role in the densification process of ZrB2 ceramics by removing the oxygen impurity and liquid phase sintering. With 5vol% AlB2 addition, both mechanical properties and oxidation resistance can be improved compared with monolithic ZrB2 ceramics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Grain-oriented silicon steel as-cast strips with the average ferrite grain sizes of 161μm and 367μm were produced by twin-roll strip casting. Then the as-cast strips were reheated and hot rolled with different reductions of 5–50%. The microstructure and texture evolution were investigated by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron backscattered diffraction methods. The elongations of the hot rolled strips were examined by the tensile tests and the fracture surfaces were observed by scanning electron microscope. It was found that the microstructure of both as-cast strips consisted of ferrite and martensite. The microstructure of all the hot rolled strips was composed of ferrite and pearlite and it was gradually refined with increasing hot rolling reduction in spite of different initial solidification structures. The hot rolled fine-grained strips showed much finer microstructure at the same hot rolling reduction and thus gave rise to higher elongations. A total reduction of more than 30% was required for the fine-grained strips to achieve relatively good ductility, while that for the coarse-grained strips was as high as 50%. With increasing hot rolling reduction, α and γ fibre textures were gradually enhanced at the expense of initial {001}〈0vw〉 fibre texture in all the hot rolled strips. Relatively strong Goss texture only evolved in the 50% hot rolled strips in spite of the different initial solidification structures, though the 50% hot rolled coarse-grained strip showed much stronger Goss texture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An Fe-6.5wt.% Si-0.3wt.% Al as-cast sheet was produced by twin-roll strip casting process, then treated with hot rolling, warm rolling and annealing. A detailed study of the microstructure and texture evolution at different processing stages was carried out by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron backscattered diffraction analysis. The initial as-cast strip showed strong columnar grains and pronounced <001>//ND texture. The hot rolled & warm rolled sheets were characterized by large amounts of shear bands distributed through the thickness together with strong <110>//RD texture and weak <111>//ND texture. After annealing, detrimental <111>//ND texture almost disappeared while beneficial {001}<210>, {001}<010>, {115}<5 −10 1> and {410} <001> recrystallization textures were formed, thus the magnetic induction of the annealed sheet was significantly improved. The recrystallization texture in the present study could be explained by preferred nucleation and grain growth mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An Fe–6.2wt%Si strip with equiaxed grains and mild {001}〈0 v w〉 fiber texture was produced by twin-roll strip casting process. Then the as-cast strip was treated with or without the hot rolling prior to the warm rolling and annealing. When the hot rolling was not introduced, a fine and heterogeneous warm-rolled microstructure was produced and led to a fine recrystallization microstructure and very weak {001}〈0 v w〉 fiber texture in the annealed sheets. When the hot rolling was introduced, a coarse and homogeneous warm-rolled microstructure was produced and led to a very coarse recrystallization microstructure and much stronger {001}〈0 v w〉 fiber texture in the annealed sheets. The annealed sheets with hot rolling showed a higher magnetic induction and a higher core loss than those without hot rolling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A 3‐layered composite plate is innovatively fabricated via composite rolling of 1.6 wt% B stainless steel surrounded by two layers of boron‐free steels. The tensile properties of composite and non‐composite plates are comparatively tested and analyzed. Besides, the microstructure evolution of the investigated plates is characterized in detail. It is found that the composite specimens exhibit higher tensile elongation comparing with that of non‐composite specimens. Specifically, the engineering strain of the 1050 °C × 30 min solution‐treated specimens reaches to 12.5 ± 0.8% which is 2.5–3.0 times as high as that of non‐composite specimens. In addition, the as‐cast lamellar borides break into bar‐shaped structures in hot rolled plates, however, their morphology and distribution hardly change after solution treatment. Besides, the transition regions between the core and clad layers are formed and characterized by medium‐sized recrystallized grains and fine borides in the solution‐treated composite specimens. The enhancement mechanism of tensile elongation is mainly analyzed in term of the geometrical restriction of necking in the composite plate during tensile deformation. This paper provides a promising method to effectively enhance the tensile fracture elongation for these metallic materials with poor plasticity like high borated stainless steels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of different slab reheating temperatures (1150 °C and 1000 °C), thicknesses of hot rolled sheet (2.8 mm, 2.3 mm and 2.0 mm) and coiling temperatures (630 °C and 750 °C) on microstructure, texture and magnetic properties of 0.4 wt% Si non-oriented electrical steel was comparatively studied in detail. This work focused on the effect of ultra-low temperature slab reheating and ultra-thin gauge hot rolling on magnetic properties. It was found that with the thinning of hot-rolled sheet thickness, the final grain size increased and iron loss decreased regardless of slab reheating temperature and coiling temperature. Lowering slab reheating temperature or increasing coiling temperature could further reduce iron loss. However, their effect on magnetic induction was relatively complex. When coiling at low temperature of 630 °C after hot rolling, decreasing thickness of hot rolled sheet did not always improve magnetic induction, but also depended on the reheating temperature. Because the low coiling temperature could not eliminate severely deformed grains in hot rolled sheets, which obviously deteriorated magnetic induction. To eliminate the deformed grains, coiling temperature was increased from 630 °C to 750 °C, and the microstructures were fully equiaxed grains. Both thinning hot-rolled sheet thickness and lowering slab reheating temperature promoted the development of shear bands during cold rolling, thus resulting in weakening γ-fiber (<111>//ND) texture and strengthening λ-fiber (<100 >//ND) in final sheets. As a result, the magnetic induction was significantly increased. Furthermore, the recrystallization behavior of different cold rolled microstructures during annealing was investigated using a quasi-in-situ electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique. • Thinning thickness of hot rolled sheet could significantly decrease iron loss. • Lower heating temperature or higher coiling temperature further reduced iron loss. • When coiling at 630 °C, magnetic induction could not be always improved. • When coiling at 750 °C, lowering reheating temperature improved magnetic induction. • Thinning hot-rolled sheet thickness further improved magnetic induction obviously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabricating ultrathin non-oriented electrical steels (NOES) sheets has been a challenge because the severe plastic deformation inevitably results in undesirable texture such as intensive γ-fiber (<111>//ND). In the present work, both one-stage rolling route with severe plastic deformation and two-stage rolling route combining different rolling process and the intermediate annealing were used to prepare 0.10 mm-thick 3.1Si-0.8Al NOES. A rare phenomenon was found that severe plastic deformation in one-stage rolling route split the orientations of α (<110>//RD) grains through deformation banding and caused lattice curvature, exhibiting the similar microstructure characteristic and stored energy distribution as the deformed γ-grains. As a result, dominant α*-fiber ({1 1 h} <1 2 1/h>) and relatively soft α-fiber textures besides sharp γ-fiber recrystallization texture were formed, which seriously deteriorated the magnetic induction and led to high magnetic anisotropy. By comparison, the two-stage rolling route favored the development of shear bands and increased the final grain size. As the second rolling reduction decreased, detrimental γ- and α*‐fiber recrystallization textures were significantly weakened, whereas λ-fiber (<001>//ND) and {117}<291> recrystallization textures were enhanced. Besides, the final grain size was gradually increased. Therefore, the magnetic induction was continuously improved and the core loss was gradually decreased. Another new finding was that magnetic anisotropy was simultaneously improved as a result of the occurrence of {117}<291> texture and the weakening of α*-fiber texture. The recrystallization mechanism of specific texture components was investigated in detail. • evere plastic deformation split the α-oriented grains through deformation banding. • Optimal processing weakened the detrimental γ-fiber and α *-fiber textures and enhanced λ-fiber and {117}<291> textures. • The occurrence of {117}<291> texture and the weakening of α *-fiber texture improved magnetic anisotropy. • The recrystallization mechanism of specific texture components was elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolithic ZrB 2 , ZrB 2 SiC, ZrB 2 ZrC and ZrB 2 SiC ZrC were prepared by hot pressing in ternary ZrB 2 SiC ZrC system. They exhibited different microstructural features. Grain sizes of each phase were smaller in the ternary composites. Contour maps of mechanical properties were also plotted in ZrB 2 SiC ZrC ternary diagram based on experiments and software fitting. They established the relationships between chemical composition and properties in a visual way. Young’s Modulus and Vickers hardness had linear relationships with composition, while the evolution of the strength and toughness was complicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 0.02 mm and 0.05 mm-thick invar alloy foils were produced by strip casting route. • Microstructure and texture evolutions were briefly investigated. • Cube texture was absent in the severely cold rolled strip. • {001}<310>texture was formed in the cold rolled and annealed strips. A new processing route including strip casting, cold rolling and annealing was proposed to manufacture the 0.05 mm-thick Fe-36%Ni invar alloy foil. The as-cast strip had coarse columnar austenite grains and pronounced {100}<0vw>fiber texture due to the high melt superheat during strip casting. The severe cold rolling in one-stage cold rolling route led to inhomogeneous deformed microstructures and strong copper-type textures. The striking features were the absence of Cube texture ({001}<100>) in the 0.05 mm-thick cold rolled strip and the appearance of {001}<310>texture after annealing, differing from the results that sharp Cube texture was normally the unique annealing texture in case of severe cold rolling. By contrast, two-stage cold rolling route led to the sharp Cube texture after final annealing even the cold rolling reduction was as high as 92.9%. The different microstructures prior to final cold rolling may be responsible for the evolution of Cube and {001}<310>texture in various routes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A r1 could be significantly changed by fine-tuning Al content. • Hot rolled elongated deformed grains were reduced even avoided by designing A r1. • Weak γ-fiber texture and bigger grains were obtained after final annealing. • The magnetic induction was increased and iron loss was decreased. • A new understanding of the effect of Al on low silicon steel was found. In non-oriented electrical steels, the initial hot rolled microstructure usually had important effects on the successive microstructure and texture development during cold rolling and annealing and the final magnetic properties. In this paper, we reported that the hot rolled microstructure of a 0.4 wt% Si steel could be controlled by designing A r1 (γ/α phase transformation temperature), which was susceptive to the content of Al. Three steel slabs with different Al contents (0.41, 0.30 and 0.21 wt%) were produced and then subjected to the same hot rolling, cold rolling and annealing treatment in an industrial production line. Interestingly, it was found that, the heavily elongated deformed grains were reduced or even avoided in the hot rolled sheets by decreasing A r1 with a slight decline of Al. As a result, after cold rolling and annealing, weak γ-fiber (〈1 1 1〉//ND) texture and bigger grains were obtained. Hence, the magnetic properties were significantly improved, i.e. high magnetic induction (B 50) together with low iron loss (P 1.5/50). The microstructure and texture evolutions of these three steels throughout the whole processing route were comparatively investigated in detail, and the effects on magnetic properties were discussed in terms of the classical loss separation theory. This work also provides a promising method to optimize the microstructure, texture and magnetic properties for other low silicon non-oriented electrical steels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxide metallurgy was employed in the fabrication of twin-roll strip casting low carbon steels. The quantitative dependences of the microstructure and mechanical properties on cooling parameters were revealed and emphatically investigated. After twin-roll strip casting, a two-step cooling route closed to the actual process was designed and the cooling rates exhibited great influences on the proportion of polygonal ferrite (PF) and acicular ferrite (AF). With increasing cooling rates in both steps, the AF volume fraction raised from 0.04 to 0.75 because the rapid cooling restrained the formation of PF. The AF laths were induced by fine Al–Si–Ti–Mn composite oxides (0.2–2 μm), leading to a heterogeneous microstructure consisting of PF and AF clusters with high proportion of large-angle (≥15°) grain boundaries. It was found that the AF laths kept K–S relationship with austenite and AF laths with collinear growth direction belong to the same codirectional variants group in one AF cluster. With the increase of AF volume fraction, the yield strength (YS) and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) were improved, while the strip retained excellent elongation. The improved YS was mainly ascribed to the grain boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first comprehensive review on inherent anisotropic features of transition metal diboride (MB 2 ) and their implementation for tailoring the microstructure and properties of MB 2 -based Ultra-high temperature Ceramics (UHTCs). The emphasis is on the processing approaches, microstructures, and properties of self-reinforced and/or textured MB 2 -based composites with elongated MB 2 grains. The crystal structure characteristics and grain growth behaviour of MB 2 are also critically reviewed. Benefiting from the tailored microstructure, the MB 2 -based ceramics exhibit some improved properties. Considering the success of Si 3 N 4 ceramics in the field of structural ceramics, it is expected that the potential MB 2 -based ceramic composites with abundant elongated MB 2 grains, textured structures, and controlled grain boundaries would possess improved fracture toughness, thermal shock resistance, and reliable high-temperature properties, which are desired for their practical applications. Accordingly, microstructure designing and tailoring provide an important perspective for the future development of UHTCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite of good oxidation resistance and ablation resistance, challenge to densify and tendency to loss high temperature (H.T.) strength have limited its potential applications in aerospace for HfB 2 –SiC ceramic. In this work, dense HfB 2 –SiC ceramic with improved H.T. flexural strength was prepared using WC as sintering aid. Pure HfB 2 –SiC ceramic exhibited creep deformation at 1600 °C with measured strength value of 389 ± 82 MPa, whereas WC doped sample showed much higher flexural strength of 658 ± 69 MPa with linear elastic behavior prior to fracture. In addition to clean grain boundary, the addition of 5 vol.%WC into HfB 2 –SiC ceramic promoted the formation of fine (Hf,W)B 2 , (Hf,W)C and WB precipitates. This combinative effect is responsible for its excellent H.T. mechanical property of WC doped HfB 2 –SiC ceramic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain oriented silicon steel was produced by strip casting and two-stage cold rolling processes. The development of microstructure and texture was investigated by using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron backscattered diffraction. It is shown that the microstructure and texture evolutions of strip casting grain oriented silicon steel are significantly distinct from those in the conventional processing route. The as-cast strip is composed of coarse solidification grains and characterized by pronounced 〈001〉//ND texture together with very weak Goss texture. The initial coarse microstructure enhances {111} shear bands formation during the first cold rolling and then leads to the homogeneously distributed Goss grains through the thickness of intermediate annealed sheet. After the secondary cold rolling and primary annealing, strong γ fiber texture with a peak at {111}〈112〉 dominates the primary recrystallization texture, which is beneficial to the abnormal growth of Goss grain during the subsequent high temperature annealing. Therefore, the secondary recrystallization of Goss orientation evolves completely after the high temperature annealing and the grain oriented silicon steel with a good magnetic properties ( B 8 =1.94 T, P 1.7/50 =1.3 W/kg) can be prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The grain size prior to cold rolling affect recrystallization kinetics and texture formation. • Continuous recrystallization and shear bands induced nucleation contributed to strong λ-fiber texture. • The dependence of prior grain size on final magnetic properties was elucidated. The present work aimed to investigate the roles of prior grain size of the hot rolled sheets after normalization on final recrystallization behavior and magnetic properties in 3.1%Si + 0.9%Al non-oriented electrical steel. Bigger prior grain size produced coarser deformed grains and promoted the development of in-grain shear bands, which together resulted in distinct recrystallization behavior. The prior small-grained microstructure caused relatively slow kinetics at the early stage of recrystallization, while fast kinetics was displayed at the later stage due to the growth of new γ(<111>//normal direction (ND))-grains and led to strong γ-fiber recrystallization texture. By contrast, the prior big-grained microstructure gave rise to relatively fast recrystallization kinetics at the early stage due to the diversified nucleation orientation and rapid grain growth in the interior of coarse deformed γ-grains with the help of in-grain shear bands. However, relatively slow kinetics was displayed at the later stage because the coarse deformed λ(<001>//ND)-grains were sluggish to recrystallize. Hence, continuous recrystallization and shear bands induced nucleation contributed to strong λ-fiber texture. Magnetic induction B 50 continuously improved as the prior grain size increased, while both the low-frequency core loss P 15/50 and the high-frequency core loss P 10/400 decreased firstly and then increased with different critical prior grain size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary recrystallization is responsible for the sharp Goss texture ({110}<001>) of grain-oriented electrical steels. Many investigations have focused on establishing the relations between the sharpness of final Goss textures and primary recrystallization textures measured by the X-ray diffraction. However, the contributions of micro-texture characteristics to secondary recrystallization have not yet been well understood. Here, we report that the grain colonies composed of grains with similar orientations in the primary recrystallization matrix had a particular role on the development of secondary recrystallization via an original tracking experiment. We observe that the γ-grain (<111>//normal direction, ND) colonies facilitate the retention of primary recrystallization matrix grains (≤25µm) having 20-45° disorientation with {110}<001> and relatively large difference in the associated frequency with precise Goss orientation and that having deviation angle of 15°, promoting the abnormal growth of low-deviation-angle Goss grains especially after the onset of secondary recrystallization and leading to sharp final Goss texture. By contrast, the abnormal growth of high-deviation-angle Goss grains may be also promoted after the initiation of secondary recrystallization in case of randomly-distributed γ-grains in primary recrystallization matrix and thus resulted in deteriorated magnetic properties. In this way, we reveal the role of grain colony on secondary recrystallization and the underlying mechanism for the effect of primary recrystallization textures on the sharpness of final Goss texture. We also observe that the formation of grain colonies is mainly related to the initial solidification microstructure, processing route as well as the deformation and recrystallization features of γ-grains. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High borated steel sheets containing 0.25 wt% to 4.0 wt% boron including hypoeutectic (0.28 wt% B and 2.11 wt% B), eutectic (2.43 wt% B) and hypereutectic (4.01 wt% B) compositions were tried to be fabricated by a novel strip casting technology, and the effects of boron content on sub-rapid solidification behavior and subsequent microstructural evolution together with mechanical properties was studied. It was found that the morphology of borides depended greatly on the boron content. When increasing boron, the morphological change of borides was network-like → grainy → cluster-like → plate-like. Various orientation relationships between different morphological borides and γ-Fe in as-cast steels were also identified. After subsequent hot-rolling and solution-treating, ultra-fine (<10 μm) borides were obtained in hypoeutectic and eutectic steels. Benefiting from that, excellent mechanical properties was achieved, which was much better than that of steels prepared by traditional ingot casting. Particularly, when the boron content approached eutectic composition, of which the effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties was more sensitive. The steels containing 2.11 wt% and 2.43 wt% boron exhibited different morphological borides with a total elongation of 14.1% and 8.0%, respectively. Moreover, a thin hypereutectic borated steel sheet was also prepared, but the borides were very large and the total elongation was very low. The correlation between microstructure and strength was clarified based on the Hall-Petch behavior and intermetallic strengthening effect. Smaller γ-grains and higher volume fraction of borides were responsible for higher strength. The plastic behavior of steels was influenced by strain-hardening rate that was determined by the volume fraction of γ-Fe matrix. A better sustainable strain-hardening capability was beneficial to extend the stage of uniform deformation and enhance the ductility. In addition, the mechanical properties of steels were also decided by the fracture mechanism that was dominated by the size of borides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ultra-thin sheets were produced based on primary recrystallization. • Dependence of texture evolution on initial Goss orientation was clarified. • Different cold rolled and recrystallization textures evolved in Hi-B and CGO. • Mechanism of recrystallization of typical texture was investigated. • Relationships of iron loss upon grain size, texture and thickness were clarified. Based on cold rolling and primary recrystallization method, 0.05–0.15 mm-thick ultra-thin grain-oriented silicon steel sheets were successfully produced by utilizing the high induction (Hi-B) and common grain-oriented (CGO) silicon steels as raw materials, respectively. Thus, the effects of sharpness of initial Goss texture on the evolutions of microstructure, texture and magnetic property were investigated in detail. For Hi-B steel, 'smooth' microstructures were formed in the cold-rolled sheets, and the textures evolved along the following path: exact {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 → {2 3 0}〈0 0 1〉 → {1 1 1}〈1 1 2〉. By contrast, significant deformation bands or shear bands were observed in the CGO steel, and the textures developed along the following path: deviated {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 → {2 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 → {1 1 1}〈1 1 2〉. After annealing, inhomogeneous microstructures containing some clusters with large grains (∼2–4 mm) and fine equiaxed grains appeared in the Hi-B steel and the associated texture evolution with increasing cold rolling reduction followed the path: {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 → {2 3 0}〈0 0 1〉 → {2 1 0}〈0 0 1〉. Unlike the Hi-B steel, relatively fine and uniform equiaxed recrystallization grains were produced in the final CGO steel, and the texture evolved along the route: {2 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 → {6 1 0}〈0 0 1〉. Consequently, further research focusing on the recrystallization mechanism was studied. The results showed that {1 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 and {2 1 0}〈0 0 1〉 developed into the predominated components due to oriented growth and oriented nucleation respectively in the 0.05 mm-thick Hi-B sheet, while {1 0 0}〈0 0 1〉 became the main texture with the aid of oriented nucleation advantage in the CGO sheet. In addition, more attention was paid on the magnetic properties of the ultra-thin sheets, and the results showed that heavy cold rolling reduction as well as low annealing temperature contributed to better magnetic induction. Furthermore, the separated iron loss components were obtained to clarify the relationships between the iron loss and grain size, texture and thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effect of two-stage cold rolling route on microstructure and texture was studied. • Low-reduction cold rolling and intermediate annealing resulted in coarse grains. • γ-Fiber was weakened while λ-fiber and Goss texture were enhanced in final sheet. • Increasing grain size prior to cold rolling led to improved magnetic properties. The 0.5 mm-thick Fe-0.9 wt%Si-0.3 wt%Al non-oriented electrical steel sheets were successfully produced with one-stage and two-stage cold rolling methods. The comparative investigations were conducted on the relationships between the processing routes, microstructures, textures and magnetic properties. This study mainly focused on how to increase the grain sizes prior to cold rolling and its influences on subsequent microstructure and texture evolution. The results showed that the fine microstructure prior to final cold rolling led to the pronounced γ-fiber texture, fine recrystallized grains and deteriorated magnetic properties after final annealing. Nevertheless, by introducing a low-reduction cold rolling and intermediate annealing, coarse grains could be generated prior to the final cold rolling. When the cold rolling reduction was 11%, a relatively homogeneous microstructure composed of fully coarse grains was produced. The increased grain sizes promoted the generation of dense shear bands during final cold rolling, which served as the nucleation sites for λ-grains and Goss grains. This resulted in the improved magnetic properties due to the weakened γ-fiber texture, strengthened λ-fiber texture and Goss texture and increased grain sizes in the final annealed sheets. This work provided a new way to improve the magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels by controlling the grain sizes prior to final cold rolling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]