Abstract: The EBSD technique was used to study whether differences in primary grain sizes and textures exist in successfully produced grain-oriented silicon steels with thicknesses of  0.27 mm, 0.23 mm, 0.20 mm. Results showed that the average grain sizes of primary recrystallized sheets with three kinds of thicknesses are all in the range of 20-22 μm when determined from the transverse sections, basically close to 21.4 μm. In 0.27 mm thick sheets, the average grain size in sheet center is larger than that in the surface region. As sheet thickness decreases, the average grain sizes in surface region gradually approach to those in sheet center. At the same time, the primary recrystallization texture is enhanced, namely, the main texture components {114}〈481〉, {111}〈112〉 and {100}〈021〉 are all enhanced to a certain extent, among which the intensity of {114}〈481〉 texture is significantly higher than other textures. The area fractions of {114}〈481〉 and {111}〈112〉 grains increase, and those of Goss and {210}〈001〉 grains decrease. Among these three kinds of thicknesses, the area fractions of Goss, {210}〈001〉 and {114}〈481〉 grains in the surface region are all higher than those in the center region, while the fraction of {100}〈021〉 and Brass grains are lower than those in the center region. Similar to the increase in texture intensity with reduced sheet thickness, the {114}〈481〉 and {111}〈112〉 textures in the surface and center regions, as well as the {100}〈021〉 texture in the central layer region are all significantly enhanced.

Key words: grain-oriented silicon steel, primary recrystallization, magnetic properties