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.

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.

The effects of three common cooling rates, namely air cooling, a cooling rate of  40  ℃/s, and water cooling, on the hot-rolled plate of a grain-oriented silicon steel were studied from the differences of microstructure, texture, and precipitate phases. As the normalizing cooling rate increased, the number of grains on the normalized plate surface increased, while the grain size gradually decreased. This would promote the transformation of austenite phases in the steel into metastable phases. After normalization, there was no significant change in the texture of the hot-rolled plate; all experimental steels exhibited a strong  α fiber texture, a weak γ fiber texture, and a weak Goss texture along the plate thickness direction. In addition, the size and volume fraction of precipitate phases in the plate decreased as the cooling rate increased.

In order to further reduce the iron loss and improve the performance of the motor, the application of grain oriented silicon steel instead of nonoriented silicon steel to motors has become a new research field. This paper introduced the technical development of grain oriented silicon steel applied to motors, summaried the influence of each technology on motor performance, analyzed the problems existing in the application of oriented silicon steel motor and its future development trend. It provides reference for the development direction of high efficiency, high power density and low loss in China’s motor industry.

Quality supervision and evaluation were conducted on the grian-oriented (GO) silicon steel used for power transformers/reactors in the 220-1 000 kV substation project newly built and expanded by State Grid Corporation of China from 2020 to 2023. A total of 175 substation projects, 24 transformer manufacturing enterprises, and 3 GO steel production enterprises were involved. Based on the technical conditions and testing method standards of GO steels, over 20 000 pieces of GO steel samples, including 23 grades such as 20QH070, 23QH075, 27QH085, and 30QH100, were randomly inspected. Overall, the failure rate of performance has been decreasing year by year, and the problems in magnetic properties, coating performance, and appearance quality of batch supplied GO steels have been identified. By continuously conducting quality assessments of GO steels, we have provided strong support for strengthening the source control of power transformer quality and helping to build an inherently safe power grid. 

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of different rare earth contents on inclusions in high-grade non-oriented silicon steel through industrial experiment. The results revealed that at a compound rare earth content of 0.002 1 %（mass fraction）, the rare earth elements predominantly formed (La, Ce)AlO3 rare earth inclusions.These inclusions serve as deoxidizers and modifiers, transforming steel Al2O3 inclusions. With an increase in the rare earth content in steel, the formation of rare earth inclusions shifts towards (La, Ce)AlO3(La, Ce)2O2S and (La, Ce)2O2S inclusions. These inclusions mainly reduce the formation of sulfides in the steel. However, their influence on the numerous Al2O3 inclusions formed during temperature drops and secondary oxidation in steel is limited. Consequently, this leads to a significant increase in the number density of Al2O3 inclusions in steel with a high rare earth content. Furthermore, rare earth treatment induced notable spheroidization of inclusions in casting billets. However, during the subsequent hot-rolling process, minimal differences were observed in the average aspect ratio of inclusions between conventionally treated plates and those treated with rare earth. Therefore,the primary factor influencing the aspect ratio of inclusions is the relevant process parameters of the rolling process.

In recent years, the rapid development of the global new energy vehicle market, coupled with the rapid advancement of self-adhesive coating technology, has led to an increasing demand for thin gauge electrical steel. This is especially true for the high-end electric motor market, such as high-speed motors and micro motors, where the rapid progress in self-adhesive coating technology has greatly driven the demand for very-thin/ultra-thin gauge electrical steel. Currently, many electric motor manufacturers for new energy vehicles are seeking to purchase self-adhesive coated electrical steel. Numerous electrical steel companies, research institutions, coating companies, and core manufacturers are actively developing self-adhesive coating and die-cutting techniques. From this, we can observe a trend in the development of thin gauge and very-thin/ultra-thin gauge electrical steel.This article focused on elaborating on thin gauge and very-thin/ultra-thin gauge electrical steel, their current production status, development, and demand trends. 

The magnetic properties of amorphous materials and silicon steel were introduced and simulated separately in high-speed motors. Based on the simulation results, the efficiency of the two materials and the differences in iron loss at different speeds were compared and analyzed. And the changes in the iron loss of amorphous materials and silicon steel under different rotational speeds were studied. The results showed that amorphous materials have obvious advantages in high-speed motors, providing material selection suggestions for motors under different rotational speed conditions.

The shear blade of an export crank type fly shear in a silicon steel continuous annealing unit was unable to fall back to the initial low position normally during the continuous shearing,and collided with the plate and strip head in motion,causing the fault of steel sticking.The reason was analyzed in this paper, and the improvement and control method to solve the corresponding failure of flying shears were put forward, which solved the fault of the fly shear, ensured the continuity of stable production, improved the productivity and conformity of the continuous annealing unit. The application effect is good.