Orientation dependence of secondary recrystallisation in silicon–iron

Experiments and analyses have been carried out to reach a better understanding of the mechanism of Goss texture formation during the secondary recrystallisation of silicon steel processed by the single cold reduction route. A new experimental approach demonstrated the effect of misorientation on the growth rates of secondary grains and it is shown that these rates are controlled by the proportion of matrix grains having Σ9 CSL relationships to growing secondary grains. It is considered that the Σ9 boundaries have lower energy than general grain boundaries and so are less strongly inhibited by Zener drag. The relative infrequency of Σ9 boundaries around the periphery of secondary grains is seen as evidence for their sacrificial behaviour. Other experiments involving growth of randomly oriented nuclei provide independent support for the important role of Σ9 boundaries during secondary recrystallisation in this steel.