The present invention provides a rolled steel sheet, for press hardening, for which the chemical composition includes, with contents expressed by weight, 0.24%≦C≦0.38%, 0.40%≦Mn≦3%, 0.10%≦Si≦0.70%, 0.015%≦Al≦0.070%, 0%≦Cr≦2%, 0.25%≦Ni≦2%, 0.015%≦Ti≦0.10%, 0%≦Nb≦0.060%, 0.0005%≦B≦0.0040%, 0.003%≦N≦0.010%, 0.0001%≦S≦0.005%, 0.0001%≦P≦0.025%, it being understood that the titanium and nitrogen content satisfy: Ti/N>3.42, and that the carbon, manganese, chromium and silicon content satisfy:

[00001]$2.6.Math..Math.C+\frac{\mathrm{Mn}}{5.3}+\frac{\mathrm{Cr}}{13}+\frac{\mathrm{Si}}{15}\ge 1.1.Math.\%,$

with the chemical composition optionally including one or more of the following elements: 0.05%≦Mo≦0.65%, 0.001%≦W≦0.30%, 0.0005%≦Ca≦0.005%, with the remainder made up of iron and inevitable impurities coming from preparation. The sheet includes a nickel content Ni.sub.surf at any point of the steel near the surface of said sheet over a depth Δ, such that Ni.sub.surf>Ni.sub.nom, where Ni.sub.nom designates the nominal nickel content of the steel, and such that Ni.sub.max designates the maximum nickel content within Δ:

[00002]$\frac{\left({\mathrm{Ni}}_{\max }+{\mathrm{Ni}}_{\mathrm{nom}}\right)}{2}\times \left(\Delta \right)\ge 0.6$

and such that:

[00003]$\frac{\left({\mathrm{Ni}}_{\max }+{\mathrm{Ni}}_{\mathrm{nom}}\right)}{\Delta }\ge 0.01,$

with the depth Δ expressed in microns and the Ni.sub.max and Ni.sub.nom contents expressed in percentages by weight.

A method for producing high-strength galvanized steel sheets having excellent coating adhesion, workability and appearance. The method comprises hot rolling a slab comprising, by mass %, C: 0.05 to 0.30%, Si: 0.1 to 2.0% and Mn: 1.0 to 4.0%, then coiling the steel sheet into a coil at a specific temperature T.sub.C, and pickling the steel sheet, cold rolling the hot-rolled steel sheet resulting from the hot rolling, annealing the cold-rolled steel sheet resulting from the cold rolling under specific conditions, and galvanizing the annealed sheet resulting from the annealing in a galvanizing bath containing 0.12 to 0.22 mass % Al.

A hot-rolled steel sheet according to the present invention has a predetermined chemical composition, in which, when a height profile of a surface of the hot-rolled steel sheet is measured in each of five measurement ranges in a rolling direction and a direction perpendicular to the rolling direction, a distance in a height direction from an average height position which is an average of a height position of a point having a highest height position and a height position of a recessed part which is a point having a lowest height position to the recessed part is indicated as R.sub.1 (μm) in each of the height profiles, and an average of heights of two measurement points away from the recessed part in the rolling direction or the direction perpendicular to the rolling direction by 5 μm is indicated as R.sub.2 (μm), an average value of radii of curvature r represented by Expression (1) is 10 μm or more, and a tensile strength of the hot-rolled steel sheet is 500 MPa or more. r=(25+|R.sub.2−R.sub.1|.sup.2)/2|R.sub.2−R.sub.1| . . . (1)

A method for manufacturing a sheet metal component including: annealing a flat steel product comprising 0.05-0.5% C, 0.5-3% Mn, 0.06-1.7% Si, ≤0.06% P, ≤0.01% S, ≤1.0% Al, ≤0.15% Ti, ≤0.6% Nb, ≤0.01% B, ≤1.0% Cr, ≤1.0% Mo, ≤1.0% Cr+Mo, ≤0.2% Ca, ≤0.1% V, remainder iron and impurities in a continuous furnace under an atmosphere consisting of 0.1-15% hydrogen and remainder nitrogen with a specific dew point and temperature profile; applying a coating consisting of ≤15% Si, ≤5% Fe, in total 0.1-5% of at least one alkaline earth or transition metal and a remainder Al and unavoidable impurities; heating the fat steel product to >Ac3 and ≤1000° C. for a time sufficient to introduce a heat energy quantity>100,000-800,000 kJs; hot-forming the flat steel product to form the component; and cooling at least one section of the component at a cooling rate sufficient to generate hardening structures.

A high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet has a component composition containing, on a percent by mass basis, C: 0.12% or more and 0.25% or less, Si: less than 0.5%, Mn: 2.0% or more and 3.0% or less, P: 0.05% or less, S: 0.005% or less, Al: 0.01% or more and 0.10% or less, and N: 0.010% or less, the balance being Fe and incidental impurities, the total area percentage of martensite and tempered martensite satisfying 20% or more and 90% or less, the area percentage of ferrite satisfying 10% or less, the area percentage of bainite satisfying 10% or more and 80% or less, the area percentage of a martensite-austenite constituent in the bainite being 1% or more and 10% or less, the area percentage of cementite having an average grain size of 1 μm or less in the bainite being 0.1% or more and 5.0% or less.

This hot-rolled steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, in which in a case where the thickness is denoted by t, a metallographic structure at a t/4 position from the surface includes, by area fraction, 77.0% to 97.0% of bainite or tempered martensite, 0% to 5.0% of ferrite, 0% to 5.0% of pearlite, 3.0% or more of residual austenite, and 0% to 10.0% of martensite, in the metallographic structure, the average grain size excluding the residual austenite is 7.0 μm or less, the average number density of iron-based carbides having a diameter of 20 nm or more is 1.0×10.sup.6 carbides/mm.sup.2 or more, a tensile strength is 980 MPa or more, and an average Ni concentration on the surface is 7.0% or more.

A method for producing a patterned stainless steel sheet with improved visual characteristics in the wavelength area of visible light including providing a deformed stainless steel sheet; performing a heat treatment on the deformed stainless steel sheet, wherein the heat treatment is conducted at a temperature of 900-1200° C.; performing a mechanical treatment on at least one surface of the heat treated stainless steel sheet; transferring the mechanically treated stainless steel sheet to a patterning process, wherein, in the patterning process, at least one side of the mechanically treated stainless steel sheet is patterned using a patterning roll having a surface with an emboss depth of up to 100 micrometers to provide a patterned stainless steel sheet; and performing a heat treatment on the patterned stainless steel sheet, wherein the heat treatment is conducted at a temperature range of 900-1200° C., wherein the mechanical treatment is carried out by blasting.

A cold-rolled steel according to the present invention has a predetermined chemical composition, satisfies (5×[Si]+[Mn])/[C]>10 when [C] is the amount of C by mass %, [Si] is the amount of Si by mass %, and [Mn] is the amount of Mn by mass %, includes 40% to 95% ferrite and 5% to 60% martensite in area fraction, and optionally further includes 10% or less pearlite in area fraction, 5% or less retained austenite in volume fraction, and less than 40% bainite in area fraction. The total of the area fraction of ferrite and the area fraction of martensite is 60% or more, the hardness of martensite measured with a nanoindenter satisfies H2/H1<1.10 and σHM<20.

A high strength steel sheet according to the present invention contains a predetermined chemical composition, in a metallographic structure, the total area ratio of tempered martensite and bainite is 80% or more, at a sheet thickness ¼ position of a cross section parallel to a rolling direction and perpendicular to a rolled surface, the standard deviation of number densities of precipitates having a diameter of 10 nm or less and including one or both of Ti and Nb is less than 5×10.sup.10 numbers/mm.sup.3, and the tensile strength is 780 MPa or more.

Methods for forming carbon-based lubricious and/or wear-protective films in situ on the surface of steel alloys are provided. The methods use chromium-containing steel alloys, molybdenum-containing steel alloys, and steel alloys that contain both copper and nickel. When such alloys are subjected to a rubbing motion in the presence of a hydrocarbon fluid, the chromium, molybdenum, copper, and nickel in the steel alloy catalyzes the formation of solid carbon-containing films that reduce the friction, wear, or both of the contacting surfaces.