Physical metallurgical aspects of texture control by thermo-mechanical processing of low-carbon steel sheet

The present paper presents an overview of present and future tools which can be used by the steel manufacturer in order to control the texture of the finished sheet product. The major solid-state-transformation processes (phase transformation, plastic deformation and recrystallisation) playing a role during thermo-mechanical processing will be addressed. The physical mechanisms that give rise to the appearance of specific texture components will be discussed in detail. In addition to current state-of-the-art process technology the potential of innovative processes will be described such as accumulative roll bonding (ARB). The present paper will also pay attention to the particular role of surface textures as an additional degree of freedom allowing to control the sheet texture with the potential to enhance the {001} or {110} fibre textures for magnetic applications