Surface roughness changes on a hot-dipped galvanized sheet steel during deformation at low strain levels

Abstract

During a study on surface roughening as a function of deformation, an anomalous behavior of the surface roughening for hot-dipped galvanized sheet steel was observed during low levels of imposed strain. A mechanistic model, which explains this surface roughening behavior, is presented. Surface topography parameters, including surface roughness, and relative zinc crystal orientation data, were measured after different amounts of deformation were imposed on the sheet. The proposed model is consistent with both sets of data. The model indicates that the zinc crystals on the surface of the coated sheet steel will initially deform by twinning, which causes a slight increase in surface roughness. The twin regions of the zinc crystals are then favorably oriented for dislocation glide, and the roughness during further deformation will slightly decrease. Once the zinc crystal orientations have homogenized, standard surface roughening due to adjacent grain constraint occurs. Further evidence to support the model include: (1) Twinning in a single crystal of zinc causes a roughness increase of the same magnitude as that found in the zinc coated steel after low strain deformation, (2) twinning of zinc has been observed in other studies of zinc-coated sheet steels, and (3) discontinuous yielding of the steel and recrystallization of the zinc during the sheet deformation did not occur and are not the cause for both the surface roughness and crystal orientation results.