Effect of Chemical Composition and Microstructure on Liquid Metal Embrittlement in Advanced High Strength Steels.

炼钢和汽车工业在减少温室气体排放和保护环境方面发挥着关键作用。开发先进的高强度钢是减轻车辆重量和提高燃油效率的最有前途的方法之一。随着钢铁生产商努力生产这些新等级的钢材，他们面临着许多新的挑战。暴露在外的汽车部件通常是镀锌的（镀锌），以保护它们免受腐蚀。当镀锌的高强度钢在装配线上进行点焊时，点焊过程中产生的热量导致液态锌的形成。液体沿着钢的晶界渗透，最终导致表面裂纹的形成。该项目的目标是为行业合作伙伴（ArcelorMittal Dofasco）提供一种工具/模型，用于预测新钢种在电阻点焊（RSW）过程中对开裂的敏感性。通过这种方式，可以在初始设计阶段考虑到钢与RSW工艺的可计算性，从而避免在产品的最终测试阶段对钢的化学/微观结构进行昂贵的修改。该基金将在一个对加拿大经济非常重要的领域培养一名研究生和一名研究助理。HQP将在工业合作伙伴位于安大略省汉密尔顿和印第安纳州东芝加哥的设施中花费大量时间，以便熟悉该项目的工业和学术方面。

The steelmaking and automotive industries are key players in the drive to reduce greenhouse emissions and protect the environment. The development of advanced high strength steels is one of the most promising approaches for reducing vehicle weight and improving fuel efficiency. As steel producers strive to produce these new grades of steels, they are faced with a number of new challenges. Exposed automotive components are typically galvanized (Zn-coated) in order to protect them from corrosion. When Zn-coated, high-strength steels are spot welded on the assembly line, the heat generated during spot welding results in the formation of liquid Zn. The liquid penetrates along grain-boundaries within the steel and this ultimately results in formation of surface cracks.The goal of this project is to provide a tool/model that could be used by the industry partner (ArcelorMittal Dofasco) to predict the susceptibility of new steel grades to cracking during Resistive Spot Welding (RSW). In this way, the computability of the steel with the RSW process can be taken into account during the initial design stages, thus avoiding the need for costly modifications of the steel chemistry/microstructure during the final testing stages of the product. The grant will train one graduate student and a Research Associate in an area of great importance to the Canadian economy. The HQP will spend a significant portion of their time at the industrial partner's facilities in Hamilton, ON and East Chicago, IN in order to become familiar with both the industrial and academic aspects of the project.