Effects of Mn addition on interfacial segregation kinetics of sulfur and magnetic induction in 3% silicon steel.

In the manganese-free 3% silicon steel, the trough in magnetic induction corresponded to the convex profile in segregation concentration of sulfur. This is due to the surface-energy induced selective growth of grains from (110) to (111) or higher index plane in the increasing order of segregated sulfur. The manganese-added steel showed a minimum in segregation concentration at the initial stage of final annealing, and a maximum with further annealing. Such a segregation behavior in the manganese-added strip may result from the precipitation and subsequent dissolution of MnS with final annealing time. A lower maximum of segregation concentration in the manganese-added strip is due to the faster H[sub 2]S reaction rate under hydrogen atmosphere than the evaporation rate of sulfur under vacuum. Final magnetic induction of 1.9 T was obtained from the manganese-free strip through the selective growth of {110}〈001... Goss grains, while the other strip showed a much lower value of 1.71 T due to the main texture component close to {100}〈011.... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]