High temperature grain growth during slab reheating of oriented 3 pct Si-Fe made using continuous casting

Studies were made into the process behind the excessive grain growth which is observed in continuous cast slabs of both regular and high permeability oriented 3 Pct Si-Fe during reheating from 1230 °C to 1400 °C. These large grains are undesirable because of the greater difficulty incurred in obtaining the suitably uniform and fine primary grain size desired prior to the final high temperature anneal during which the (110) [001] texture is developed. It was found that the driving force for the growth is the subgrain structure which develops due to the strains of solidification and cooling during continuous casting; however, the temperature at which growth initiates is related to the austenite-ferrite phase relationship. The grain growth begins when the austenite which forms during slab reheating decomposes to form highly perfect ferrite which then grows by consuming the strained preexisting (as-cast) ferrite matrix. Data summarizing studies into the energy storage and recrystallization processes which occur with the use of slab breakdown (or prerolling) prior to reheating from 1230° to 1400 °C are also discussed. This paper is based on a presentation made at the symposium “Physical Metallurgy of Electrical Steels” held at the 1985 annual AIME meeting in New York on February 24–28, 1985, under the auspices of the TMS Ferrous Metallurgy Committee.