NSERC/US Steel Canada Industrial Research Chair in Zinc-Coated Advanced Steels

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

One of the most effective means of increasing automotive fuel efficiency and thereby decreasing greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions is vehicle weight reduction. This can be accomplished through the increased use of advanced high strength steels for structural components and body closures. The use of these materials permit the use of thinner sheet steel cross-sections while maintaining or enhancing passenger safety. However, reducing sheet metal thickness demands enhanced corrosion protection to maintain the structural integrity and meet consumer durability expectations. The continuous galvanizing process is the most cost-effective and widely practiced means of achieving this objective. Advanced steels use higher amounts of alloying elements which make galvanizing difficult as they form oxides, causing the bare spots and other coating defects. However, this is not always the case in practice. The renewal term of the IRC will focus on the interactions of the continuous galvanizing process atmosphere and bath with alloys in the complex and technologically important manganese-silicon series of alloys to develop comprehensive models of the interactions between these surfaces with the objective of developing alloy development guidelines such that both the required mechanical properties can be met while ensuring that the steels can be successfully galvanized. We will also study the newer generation of zinc-based aluminium-magnesium coatings and their interactions with advanced steel surfaces. This term of the IRC will train a total of eleven students for Canadian industry and will provide the steel industry with a set of tools which can be used to maintain and increase their competitive advantage in the highly competitive steel industry.