Entwicklung einer niedrigschmelzenden Legierung und deren Applikation zum Korrosionsschutz hochfester Stähle

Development of low‐temperature galvanizing and its application for corrosion protection of high‐strength steels Apart from reliability and quality, vehicle safety and cost efficiency are the decisive criteria for automobile manufacturers. Corrosion protection plays a decisive role because it increases the service life. The ultra‐high‐strength steels are materials which exhibit high lightweight potential as well as a very good energy absorption capacity because of their mechanical properties. In connection with the possibility of hot forming, they are predestined for the fabrication of complicated, load‐compatible shapes in the crash‐relevant frame and body construction. The application of these steel qualities has been carried out in structural parts which are protected from corrosion by a hot‐dip coat of FeAl7 – the so‐called Usibor. However, at the moment there is no ready‐for‐production solution for later corrosion protection of already hot‐formed parts. Therefore, a corrosion protection system on the basis of conventional low‐temperature galvanizing processes has been developed and utilized. First, the softening behavior of the highly‐resistant 22MnB5 substrate was analyzed. Afterwards, a galvanizing system was developed and applied. The corrosion protection coatings were characterized with regard to their structure and corrosion protection potential. As a result, a significant improvement of the corrosion behaviour has occurred.