Abstract: In this paper, Fe-3 %Si solidified steel sheets produced by planar flow casting were subjected to temper rolling and annealing processes, so as to explore short process fabrication of ultra-thin non-oriented electrical steel, meanwhile the microstructure and texture evolution during light rolling and annealing were studied. Results showed that there are major columnar grained structures in solidified sheets, and the fraction of {100} grains is higher than 30 %, indicating beneficial {100} texture in the sheets. After light rolling, low orientation change and in grain orientation split are shown in most of the grains, and deformation behaviors in different grains are shown to be dependent on their initial orientations. The lower stored deformation energy in {100} oriented grain contributes to heritage advantage after annealing, thus beneficial  {100} grains in annealed samples still occupy more than 30 % area. Fine grains with non {100} orientations increase after annealing, so as to reduce the average grain size and weaken {100} texture to some extent.

Key words: planar flow casting, non-oriented silicon steel, temper rolling, annealing, grain size, texture