A method for producing a coated steel sheet having a tensile strength TS of at least 1450 MPa and a total elongation TE of at least 17% includes the successive steps of providing a cold rolled steel sheet made of a steel having a chemical composition comprising, in weight %: 0.34%≤C≤0.45%, 1.50%≤Mn≤2.30%, 1.50≤Si≤2.40%, 0%<Cr≤0.7%, 0%≤Mo≤0.3%, 0.10%≤Al≤0.7%, and optionally 0%≤Nb≤0.05%, the remainder being Fe and unavoidable impurities, annealing the cold-rolled steel sheet at an annealing temperature AT higher than the Ac3 transformation point of the steel, quenching the annealed steel sheet by cooling it down to a quenching temperature QT lower than the Ms transformation point of the steel and comprised between 150° C. and 250° C., and reheating the quenched steel sheet to a partitioning temperature PT between 350° C. and 450° C. and maintaining the steel sheet at the partitioning temperature PT for a partitioning time Pt of at least 80 s, and coating the steel sheet by galvannealing, with an alloying temperature GAT comprised between 470° C. and 520° C.

A coated steel material including: a base steel, and a coating layer containing a Zn—Al—Mg alloy layer disposed on a surface of the base steel, wherein the coating layer has a predetermined chemical composition, and, in a backscattered electron image of the Zn—Al—Mg alloy layer that is obtained at a time of observing the surface of the Zn—Al—Mg alloy layer after polishing to ½ of the layer thickness, under a scanning electron microscope at a magnification of 100×, Al crystals are present, and the average value of the cumulative circumferential length of the Al crystals is 88 to 195 mm/mm.sup.2.

The present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of a hot-dip coated steel sheet coated with a zinc or an aluminum based coating including the provision of a specific steel sheet, a recrystallization annealing with specific heating, soaking and cooling sub-steps using an inert gas and a hot-dip coating; the hot dip coated steel sheet and the use of the hot-dip coated steel sheet.

[Object] What is provided is a manufacturing method of a galvannealed steel sheet capable of further promoting alloying of zinc plating with the steel sheet. [Resolution Means] A manufacturing method of a galvannealed steel sheet, including: forming on a surface of a steel sheet after hot rolling and pickling which contains, by mass %, C: 0.001% to 0.350%, Si: 0.001% to 2.500% or P: 0.001% to 0.100%, or combination thereof, Mn: 0.10% to 3.00%, S: 0.001% to 0.010%, N: 0.0010% to 0.0065%, and sol. Al: 0.001% to 0.800% with a remainder being Fe and impurities, grooves having an opening surface width of 10 μm to 25 μm and a depth of 10 μm to 30 μm at intervals of 20 μm to 500 μm; cold rolling the steel sheet at a rolling reduction of 30% or more; reduction annealing the steel sheet after the cold rolling; immersing the steel sheet in a hot-dip galvanizing bath containing 0.10 mass % to 0.20 mass % of Al with a remainder consisting of Zn and optional components, and adhering a hot-dip galvanized layer to the surface of the steel sheet; and heating the steel sheet to which the hot-dip galvanized layer is adhered, and alloying the steel sheet with the hot-dip galvanized layer.

A hot-rolled coated steel sheet including: in wt %, C: 0.05-0.14%, Si: 0.1-1.0%, Mn: 1.0-2.0%, P: 0.001-0.05%, S: 0.001-0.01%, AI: 0.01-0.1%, Cr: 0.005-1.0%, Ti: 0.005-0.13%, Nb: 0.005-0.03%, N: 0.001-0.01%, Fe residues, and other inevitable impurities; a mixed structure of ferrite and bainite as a main phase; and as a remaining structure, one or more selected from the group consisting of martensite, austenite, and phase martensite (MA), wherein a fraction of the ferrite and bainite is 95-99 area % and Equation 1 is satisfied. [Equation 1] FCO.sub.{110}<112>+FCO.sub.{112}<111>≥10 where, FCO.sub.{110}<112> and FCO.sub.{112}<111>, each representing an area fraction occupied by a structure having ac crystal orientation of {110}<112> and {112}<111>.

A method for manufacturing a hot-dip galvanized steel sheet according to one aspect of the present invention includes an annealing step of reduction-annealing a steel sheet having a Si content of 1.0% by mass or more and 3.0% by mass or less at a temperature equal to or higher than an A3 point of the steel sheet in an atmosphere having a dew point of −20° C. or higher; and a hot-dip galvanizing step of making the annealed steel sheet enter into a galvanizing bath to form a galvanized layer on a surface of the steel sheet, wherein a temperature of the steel sheet entering into the galvanizing bath is set to 390° C. or lower.

Provided is a steel sheet having excellent image clarity after painting, including: carbon (C): 0.001% to 0.03%, silicon (Si): 0.001% to 0.35%, manganese (Mn): 0.05% to 2.2%, phosphorus (P): 0.003% to 0.1%, sulfur (S): 0.001% or 0.025%, aluminum (Al): 0.01% to 0.1%, nitrogen (N): 0.001% to 0.007%, and a remainder of iron (Fe) and inevitable impurities. The microstructure of the steel sheet mainly is ferrite phases. An R-cube texture of a surface layer of the steel sheet is 5% or less by area %.

The invention relates to the technical field of galvanization of iron-based or iron-containing components, especially steel-based or steel-containing components (steel components), preferably for the automotive or motor vehicle industry, but also for other industrial fields of application (for example for the construction industry, the field of general mechanical engineering, the electrical engineering industry etc.), by means of hot galvanization (hot clip galvanization). More particularly, the invention relates to a method of hot galvanization (hot dip galvanization) and to a plant for this purpose, and additionally to a flux and flux bath usable in this connection and to the respective uses thereof, and additionally also to the products obtainable by the method and/or in the plant (i.e. hot galvanized iron or steel components).

A hot-dip coated steel product including: a steel product; and a coating layer including a Zn—Al—Mg alloy layer disposed on a surface of the steel product, in which the Zn—Al—Mg alloy layer includes a Zn phase, an Al phase, and a MgZn.sub.2 phase, and contains a Mg—Sn intermetallic compound phase in the Zn phase, and the coating layer has a chemical composition satisfying a predetermined average composition, a total area proportion of the Al phase and the MgZn.sub.2 phase is 70% or more, an area proportion of the Zn phase is 30% or less, an average value of cumulative circumferential lengths of the Al phase is less than 88 mm/mm.sup.2, and a total frequency in number of the Al phase having a circumferential length of 50 μm or more is less than 100.

Provided is a technique that can produce a hot dip Zn—Al—Mg-based alloy coated steel product with a good plating appearance, without the need for heating of a steel product prior to immersion in a hot dip plating bath. Flux (11) for hot dip Zn—Al—Mg-based alloy plating contains: ZnCl.sub.2; and a low-reactive chloride which has low reactivity with respect to Mg in a plating bath and contains at least two chlorides selected from the compound group consisting of alkali metal chlorides and alkaline-earth metal chlorides, and a composition of the ZnCl.sub.2 and the low-reactive chloride is adjusted so that a liquidus temperature of the flux is 450° C. or lower.