This steel sheet has a specific chemical composition, the tensile strength is 1300 MPa or more, the ratio (R/t) of the limit bend radius to the sheet thickness is less than 3.5, when a depth position of 30 μm from the surface in the sheet thickness direction is defined as a position A and a depth position of ¼ of the sheet thickness from the surface in the sheet thickness direction is defined as a position B, the number density of AIN at the position A is 3000 pieces/mm.sup.2 or more and 6000 pieces/mm.sup.2 or less, a metallographic structure at the position B includes 90% or more of martensite by volume percentage, and the hardness at the position A is 1.20 times or higher than the hardness at the position B.

This hot-rolled steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, a microstructure includes 80% or more of tempered martensite by a volume percentage and a remainder consisting of one or more of ferrite, pearlite, bainite, fresh martensite, and residual austenite, the tempered martensite includes 5×10.sup.9 pieces/mm.sup.3 or more of precipitates containing Ti and having an equivalent circle diameter of 5 nm or less per unit volume, in a surface layer region that is a range from a surface to a 1/10 position of a sheet thickness, a sum of an average pole density of a crystal orientation group consisting of {211}<111> to {111}<112> and a pole density in a crystal orientation of {110}<001> is 6.0 or less, and a tensile strength is 980 MPa or more.

A steel workpiece includes an alloy substrate comprising iron, about 1.4 to about 2.0 weight percent aluminum, and about 0 to about 1.0 weight percent silicon. The steel workpiece further includes a coating comprising zinc. A method of spot welding a workpiece stack-up that includes a pair of the steel workpieces includes providing the stack-up, contacting first and second electrodes to the steel workpieces, passing an electrical current through the stack-up, forming a weld nugget from molten mixing of the alloy substrates of the pair of steel workpieces, forming a boundary layer between the coating and the alloy substrate from dispersion of the coating into the alloy substrate and reaction of the zinc with the aluminum and the silicon to prevent molten mixing of the coating within the alloy substrate, and ceasing passage of the electrical current.

Provided is a plated steel material which can be used for an automobile, a household appliance, a building material, and the like and, more particularly, to a zinc alloy plated steel material having excellent corrosion resistance after being processed and a method for manufacturing the same.

Disclosed is a system for maintaining a pretreatment bath containing a pretreatment comprising a Group IVB metal. The system comprises an aqueous reducing agent comprising a metal cation and a latent source of sulfate which, upon reaction with a contaminant in the pretreatment bath, forms a metal sulfate. The contaminant comprises a nitrite source. The metal sulfate salt has a pKsp of 4.5 to 11 at a temperature of 25° C. Also disclosed is a method for maintaining a pretreatment bath containing a pretreatment composition comprising a Group IVB metal. The method comprises supplying the reducing agent to the pretreatment bath in an amount sufficient to reduce a pollution ratio of the pretreatment bath to less than 1:1. Also disclosed are substrates with a pretreatment bath maintained according to the system and method.

There is provided a hot-stamped member or a steel sheet for hot stamping having a chemical composition including, in mass %, C: 0.25% or more and 0.55% or less, Si: 0.001% or more and 2.0% or less, Mn: 0.3% or more and 3.0% or less, P: 0.02% or less, S: 0.003% or less, Al: 0.005% or more and 1.0% or less, Cr: 0% or more and 1.0% or less, Mo: 0% or more and 1.0% or less, N: 0.02% or less, Ca: 0% or more and 0.0010% or less, B: 0.0005% or more and 0.01% or less, one or two or more selected from the group consisting of Ti: 0.005% or more and 0.5% or less, Nb: 0.005% or more and 0.5% or less, V: 0.005% or more and 0.5% or less, and Zr: 0.005% or more and 0.5% or less, and Ni+Cu+Sn: 0% or more and 2% or less, and a remainder consisting of Fe and impurities.

The present disclosure relates to a high-strength hot-dip galvanized steel sheet having excellent surface quality and electrical resistance spot weldability, and a method for manufacturing the same. A galvanized steel sheet according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a galvanized steel sheet including a base steel sheet and a zinc-based plating layer formed on a surface of the base steel sheet, wherein a ratio (a/b) of a hardness of a surface layer portion (a) to a hardness of an internal portion (b) of the base steel sheet may be less than 0.95.

A hot stamped component, includes: a base material; and a Zn-based plating layer provided in contact with the base material as a layer above the base material and containing Zn. A base material side of the Zn-based plating layer is a Fe—Zn solid solution, and two or more twins exist in 10 crystal grains of the Fe—Zn solid solution adjacent to an interface between the base material and the Zn-based plating layer.

A method of forming a shaped steel object is provided. The method includes cutting a blank from an alloy composition including 0.05-0.5 wt. % carbon, 4-12 wt. % manganese, 1-8 wt. % aluminum, 0-0.4 wt. % vanadium, and a remainder balance of iron. The method also includes heating the blank until the blank is austenitized to form a heated blank, transferring the heated blank to a press, forming the heating blank into a predetermined shape to form a stamped object, and decreasing the temperature of the stamped object to a temperature between a martensite start (Ms) temperature of the alloy composition and a martensite final (Mf) temperature of the alloy composition to form a shaped steel object comprising martensite and retained austenite.

Methods of producing high strength continuously cast hot rolled steel sheet products are disclosed. The methods include continuously casting a steel slab and then hot rolling with finish rolling on a hot strip mill, quenching on the hot strip mill to form a predominantly matrensitic microstructure, and performing a thermal cycling step including soaking at an intercritical temperature followed by holding at a lower temperature. The resultant hot rolled steel sheet products have a microstructure comprising ferrite and retained austenite. Steels processed in accordance with the present invention exhibit favorable combined ultimate tensile strength and total elongation (UTS.Math.TE) properties, and may fall into the category of Generation 3 advanced high strength steels, desirable in various industries including automobile manufacturers.