STW HTM project: Fundamentals in the adhesion of PVD ZnMg-coatings for the next generation steels

The STW HTM project “Fundamentals in the Adhesion of Physical Vapor Deposited (PVD) ZnMg-coatings for the Next Generation Steels (NGS)” is a joint research project led by Prof. Yutao Pei, consisting of one PhD student at APE group, ENTEG, University of Groningen and one Post-Doc researcher at TU Delft. PhD student Emad Galinmoghaddam started on 1st June 2016 to work in the project.

The project is driven by the desire of Tata Steel Europe to develop PVD continuously coated strip as a breakthrough technology for depositing anti-corrosion ZnMg coatings on NGS strip. It aims at understanding how the adhesion property of PVD ZnMg coatings on NGS is influenced by PVD process including the subsequent thermal processes, and by the chemical composition and microstructure of the coating and substrate steels. These parameters will be used to predict the mechanical performance of substrate-coating systems during subsequent thermal and forming operations by micromechanical simulations. The ultimate goal is to solve the adhesion problem of novel PVD ZnMg-based multilayer coated NGS by optimizing the coating design and interface structure, and enhancing interfacial bonding.