Abstract
Microstructure and texture (ODF) investigations were carried out on Fe–3% Si electrical steels with different C, MnS and AlN content (CGO and HGO quality). The main result was that by a thin (0.25 μm) Ni layer on the sheet surfaces produced by electroplating before the final anneal the starting temperature of discontinuous grain growth could be decreased and the Goss texture could be sharpened. This effect was influenced by the heating rate and disappeared after decarburization. It is caused by the diffusion of Ni along the grain boundaries by which the segregation and precipitation characteristics of elements like C, N, S, is changed.