A grain-oriented electrical steel sheet according to an embodiment of the present includes Si at 1.0 wt % to 7.0 wt %, C at 0.005 wt % or less (excluding 0 wt %), In at 0.001 wt % to 0.5 wt %, and the remainder including Fe and other impurities unavoidably added thereto.

A method of manufacturing an austenitic stainless steel, being dissolved and refined, by providing Si from 0.2 to 2.0% by mass, Mn from 0.3 to 5.0% by mass, S at 0.007% by mass or less, Ni from 7.0 to 15.0% by mass, Cr from 15.0 to 20.0% by mass, Al at 0.005% by mass or less, Ca at 0.002% by mass or less, Mg at 0.001% by mass or less, and 0 from 0.002 to 0.0065% by mass and setting a ratio, during refining, of CaO/SiO.sub.2 in a slag between 1.0 and 2.5. The remainder comprises Fe and unavoidable impurities, and a mass ratio indicated by (Mn+Si)/Al among Mn, Si, and Al is 200 or more. An oxide-based nonmetallic inclusion comprises MnO—SiO.sub.2—Al.sub.2O.sub.3—CaO, where Al.sub.2O.sub.3 is 30% by mass or less, Cr.sub.2O.sub.3 is 5% by mass or less, and MgO is 10% by mass or less, and a sulfide-based nonmetallic inclusion is CaS whose maximum area is 100 μm.sup.2 or less.

A process for producing grain-oriented electrical steel strip by means of thin slab continuous casting, comprising the following process steps: a) smelting a steel, b) continuously casting the smelt by thin slab continuous casting, c) heating up the thin slabs and subjecting the slabs to homogenization annealing at a maximum temperature of 1250° C., d) heating to a temperature between 1250° C. and 1350° C., e) continuously hot rolling the thin slabs to form a hot-rolled strip, f) cooling and reeling the hot-rolled strip to form a coil, g) annealing the hot-rolled strip after reeling and prior to a subsequent cold rolling step, h) cold rolling the hot-rolled strip to the nominal usable thickness, i) subjecting the cold-rolled strip to recrystallization, decarburization and nitridation annealing, j) applying an annealing separator (non-stick layer) to the strip surface of the cold-rolled strip, k) subjecting the cold-rolled strip to secondary recrystallization annealing, forming a finished steel strip having a pronounced Goss texture, and l) stress-free annealing the finished steel strip, which has been coated with an insulating layer, provides an improved process for producing grain-oriented electrical steel strip by means of thin slab continuous casting. This is achieved in that the recrystallization, decarburization and nitridation annealing of the cold-rolled strip in process step h) comprises a decarburization annealing phase and a subsequent nitridation annealing phase, with an intermediate reduction annealing phase being interposed between the decarburization annealing phase and the nitridation annealing phase, and carried out at a temperature ranging from 820° C.-890° C., for a maximum period of 40 seconds, with a dry, gaseous annealing atmosphere, which contains nitrogen (N.sub.2) and hydrogen (H.sub.2) and acts on the cold-rolled strip, and which has a water vapor/hydrogen partial pressure ratio pH.sub.2O/pH.sub.2 of less than 0.10.

A non-oriented electrical steel sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention includes, in wt %, Si at 0.2 to 4.3%, Mn at 0.05 to 2.5%, Al at 0.1 to 2.1%, Bi at 0.0001 to 0.003%, Ga at 0.0001 to 0.003%, and the balance of Fe and inevitable impurities.

Proposed is a non-oriented electrical steel sheet being low in iron loss and excellent in tensile strength and fatigue strength, which has a chemical composition comprising C: not more than 0.005 mass %, Si: 3 to 5 mass %, Mn: not more than 5 mass %, P: not more than 0.1 mass %, S: not more than 0.01 mass %, Al: not more than 3 mass %, N: not more than 0.005 mass %, Zn: 0.0005 mass % to 0.003 mass %, and the remainder being Fe and inevitable impurities, an average crystal grain size being not more than 40 μm, the number of the inclusions having a diameter of not less than 5 μm being not more than 5/mm.sup.2, a tensile strength being not less than 600 MPa, and the fatigue strength being not less than 450 MPa.

Provided is a method for stably obtaining a non-oriented electrical steel sheet with high magnetic flux density and excellent productivity, at a low cost by casting in a continuous casting machine a slab having a chemical composition including by mass %, C≦0.0050%, 3.0%<Si≦5.0%, Mn≦0.10%, Al≦0.0010%, 0.040%<P≦0.2%, N≦0.0040%, 0.0003%≦S≦0.0050%, Ca≦0.0015%, and total of at least one element selected from Sn and Sb: 0.01% or more and 0.1% or less, balance including Fe and incidental impurities, subjecting the slab to heating, then subjecting the slab to hot rolling to obtain a hot rolled steel sheet, then subjecting the steel sheet to hot band annealing, pickling, subsequent single cold rolling to obtain a final sheet thickness, then subjecting the steel sheet to final annealing, wherein in the hot band annealing, soaking temperature is 900° C. or higher and 1050° C. or lower, and cooling rate after soaking is 5° C/s or more.

In a method of producing a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet comprising subjecting a steel slab containing no inhibitor-forming components to hot rolling, cold rolling, primary recrystallization annealing working also as decarburization and to final annealing causing secondary recrystallization after applying an annealing separator on the surface, the final cold rolling for cold rolling the steel sheet to the final thickness uses a warm rolling with a tandem rolling mill at a total rolling reduction of not less than 80% at 150 to 280° C. and is performed by extending a pass line length of the steel sheet between the stands so that T satisfies T≥1.3×L/V, where an distance between the stands is defined as L(m), a speed of the steel sheet passing between the stands is defined as V (mpm), and a pass time during which the steel sheet passes between the stands is defined as T(min).

A process for producing grain-oriented electrical steel strip by means of thin slab continuous casting and which includes continuously casting the smelt by thin slab continuous casting, subjecting the thin slabs to homogenization annealing at a maximum temperature of 1250° C. and heating to a temperature between 1350° C. and 1380° C., and continuously hot rolling the thin slabs to form a hot-rolled strip, with cooling and reeling the hot-rolled strip to form a coil and cold rolling the hot-rolled strip to a nominal thickness, with subjecting the cold-rolled strip to recrystallization, decarburization and nitridation annealing, which includes a decarburization annealing phase and a subsequent nitridation annealing phase, with an intermediate reduction annealing phase being interposed between the decarburization annealing phase and the nitridation annealing phase, whereby a cold-rolled strip is obtained, which primary recrystallized grains have a circle equivalent mean size (diameter) between 22 μm and 25 μm.

An oriented electrical steel sheet according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes C: 0.01% or less (excluding 0%), Si: 2.0%-4.0%, Mn: 0.01%-0.20%, acid soluble Al: 0.040% or less (excluding 0%), N: 0.008% (excluding 0%), S: 0.008% (excluding 0%), Se: 0.0001-0.008%, Cu: 0.002-0.1%, Ni: 0.005-0.1%, Cr: 0.005-0.1%, P: 0.005%-0.1% and Sn: 0.005%-0.20%, one or more among Sb: 0.0005%-0.10%, Ge: 0.0005%-0.10%, As: 0.0005%-0.10%, Pb: 0.0001%-0.10%, Bi: 0.0001%-0.10% and Mo: 0.001-0.1% as wt %, and consisting of the balance of Fe and other inevitable impurities, and after final secondary recrystallization, a magnetic flux density B8 is 1.92 Tesla or more.

The present disclosure has as its object the provision of non-oriented electrical steel sheet excellent in magnetic properties which is free from any drop in magnetic flux density even after stress relief annealing and a method for manufacturing the same.

Non-oriented electrical steel sheet having a chemical composition containing C: 0.0030 mass % or less, Si: 2.0 mass % or more and 4.0 mass % or less, Al: 0.010 mass % or more and 3.0 mass % or less, Mn: 0.10 mass % or more and 2.4% mass or less, P: 0.0050 mass % or more and 0.20 mass % or less, S: 0.0030 mass % or less, and one or more elements selected from the group comprising Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ce, La, Nd, Pr, Zn, and Cd: total 0.00050 mass % or more and having a balance of Fe and unavoidable impurities, where, when designating a mass % of Si as [Si], a mass % of Al as [Al], and a mass % of Mn as [Mn], a parameter Q shown by the following formula (1) is 2.0 or more, a random intensity ratio of the {100} orientation is 2.4 or more, and an average grain size is 30 μm or less:

Q=[Si]+2[Al]−[Mn]  (1)