Analysis of the galvanised steel sheets resistance to corrosion after plastic deformation

Nowadays, number of customer and environmental requirements are laid to the automotive industry. These are related to safety increase, the weight and emission reduction as well as the life-time improvement. The article presents the way to improve the corrosion resistance of the car-body components when coated steel sheets are used based on Zn-Al-Mg coatings. Thus, the life-time of the car-body is improved. Samples with conventional Zn coating and samples with advanced Zn-Al-Mg coatings were deformed by stretching and 3-point bending to 90° and 180° tests. Consequently, the samples were exposed to salt spray in the corrosion chamber. Time to red corrosion appearance and adequate percentage of corroded surface was evaluated. The results showed the better corrosion protection of Zn-Al-Mg coatings when compared to the conventional Zn coating.