Contribution presents results of study of tribological characteristics of Fe-Zn coated steel sheets. Experimental research was done using coatings with different alloying -under alloyed, optimal and slightly pre alloyed. The optimally alloyed coatings and the slightly prealloyed ones were annealed in order to reach different alloying level. Alloying level was evaluated by phase composition and % Fe in coating. Tribological properties such as surface microgeometry, abrasion, friction coefficient were analysed from the view of formability. Experimental results of strip drawn test were used for verification of strip-drawn test numerical simulation. Based on numerical simulation results, contact pressure on drawing die radius was observed.Keywords: Fe-Zn coatings, steel sheets, coating morphology, friction coefficient, numerical simulation
IntroductionCurrent production in the automotive, consumer goods industry and also other industries must adapt to many; often mutually conflicting technical, economic and environmental requirements. On the one hand, customer demands for products performance, primarily for safety, reliability, corrosion resistance, driving dynamics, comfort and economy are growing; on the other hand, pressure to reduce emissions, higher productivity, eco-friendly production, reduction of maintenance costs and prices of products is increasing. The main innovative trends for increasing the performance of automobiles include reducing the weight of structural parts that contribute the most to the total weight of the car (body 26 %, 23 % undercarriage, motor 21 %, 22 % equipment, etc.). The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated by the results of the project ULSAB. For more than 80% of structural elements of the ULSAB body the builders have used high-strength steels with yield strength from 210 to 550 MPa, ultra-high strength steels with yield strength above 550 MPa, almost half of the weight of the body consists of laser-welded tailored blanks (tailored blanks) and sandwich materials [1,2]. In order to ensure the adequate lifetime of autobodies, majority of structural elements of ULSAB body are made of zinc coated sheets. Among the coated steel sheets are given the ratio between quality and the price of its irreplaceable galvanized sheets. During annealing after galvanization the transformation of the