Modification of galvannealed steel through aluminum addition

Aluminum is believed to modify and to some extent control the coating characteristics of commercially produced galvanneal sheet steel. These include mechanical, chemical, and aesthetic properties. Whereas the aluminum added to the molten zinc bath is known to form intermetallics before the steel is annealed, our research is primarily concerned with the effect aluminum has on suppression or enhancement of the particular iron--zinc alloy phases in the coating during galvannealing. The microstructure of four commercially important iron--zinc intermetallic phases containing varying aluminum content between 0--1.5 weight percent has been studied. It is also believed that an iron--aluminum alloy, known as the inhibition layer, forms on the steel surface following hot dipping and prior to annealing. Transmission and scattering Mössbauer spectroscopy as well as X-ray diffraction have been used to identify iron--zinc and iron--aluminum alloys present in the coatings. Discussion will be presented on the effect aluminum has on phase suppression for Fe--Zn alloys prepared in commercially produced galvanneal.