Study of local microstructure and texture heterogeneities in hot rolled CGO Fe-3%Si sheets

After secondary recrystallization, the Fe-3%Si alloys, grade Conventional Grain Oriented (C.G.O.), exhibit a Goss texture that is sought for minimizing watt losses in transformer cores. The mechanisms of Goss grain formation and their evolution during the processing route from hot rolling to decarburizing such as the early first steps of abnormal growth are not still well cleared up. This work deals with the influence of local microstructure and texture heterogeneities observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) at the hot rolling step. The present results complete those previously obtained by neutron diffraction [1]. Presence of Goss grain colonies at about the quarter of the hot rolled sheet is probably, as it has already been suggested, at the origin of the Goss grain presence at the primary recrystallized state.