Grant: Alliance Grants

Automakers increasingly turn to advanced high strength steel (AHSS) alloys for light-weighting, the singlemost effective way to improve the efficiency of fossil-fueled cars and the range of electric vehicles. It is crucialto protect these thinner-gauge parts from corrosion; this is often done through continuous galvanizing, in whicha steel strip is coated with a protective zinc layer, or galvannealing, in which the zinc-coated strip undergoes asubsequent heating step to form a Zn-Fe intermetallic layer that offers superior corrosion, weldability, andpaint-adhesion. Unfortunately, steelmakers incur high scrap rates due to substandard properties that, in manycases, can be traced to thermal excursions caused by uncertain variations in the radiative properties. Thesecosts impact the entire Canadian automotive chain, from resource providers like Teck Metals, to steelmakerslike Stelco and Arcelor-Mattel Dofasco, automotive parts suppliers like Magna, original equipmentmanufacturers like Ford and General Motors, and ultimately to consumers.The objective of this 3.5-year research project is to develop radiometric techniques to improve control of thegalvanneal process. The academic team at the University of Waterloo and McMaster University, will workclosely with Stelco, Teck, and Williamson, the key provider of industrial pyrometers to the North Americansteel industry, to connect the evolving surface state of the galvanneal to radiometric properties, and thenincorporate this information into Bayesian pyrometry algorithms to provide temperature estimates andassociated uncertainties. The project will conclude with an industrial proof-of-concept implementation onStelco's galvanneal line. While the fmain focus is on improved thermal control, the radiative propertiesthemselves will provide unique and heretofore unleveraged information about the kinetic and transportprocesses responsible for the coating transformation. Finally, at least three highly-qualified personnel will beequipped with job-ready skills in high demand by Canada's manufacturing sector.