Abstract
In this study, formability of hot-dip galvanized low carbon steel sheets has been evaluated. The effect of coating thickness on formability has been analyzed by using galvanized sheets with five different coating weights and a comparison has been made with an uncoated sheet. The crystallographic orientation of the coatings was determined using X-ray diffraction and texture parameters were calculated. Mechanical properties of samples were determined by uniaxial tensile tests and formability of the sheets was evaluated using forming limit diagrams (FLD). From the experimental results, it was concluded that by increasing the coating thickness, the texture parameter of basal planes component was decreased. Such variations caused the yield strength of the coated sheet to increase, but ductility was reduced. The overall evaluation of the results indicated that the formability of galvanized steel with thinner coating thickness is better than uncoated and other samples with thicker coatings.
