Corrosion Science 49 (2007) 211219 www.elsevier.

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Corrosion and corrosion test methods of zinc coated steel sheets on automobiles
Sakae Fujita *, Daisuke Mizuno
JFE Steel Corporation, 1 Kawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-0835, Japan Available online 25 July 2006

Abstract The eect of zinc and zinc alloy coated steel sheets on perforation corrosion in actual automobiles and the relevant accelerated corrosion test methods were studied. The main factor aecting corrosion in the crevice of lapped panels was the coating weights of zinc and zinc alloys rather than the type of coating. Perforation corrosion process of galvanized steel in the crevice of lapped portion in automobiles was divided in four stages. Based on the analysis of corrosion in actual automobiles, a Perforation Corrosion Index, PCI for lapped steel panels was proposed. Assuming PCI for various accelerated corrosion test methods, the corrosion resistance of various types of coated steel sheets in actual environments was evaluated. 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: A. Zinc; A. Zinc alloy; A. Coating; A. Steel; B. Corrosion test; C. Corrosion; C. Perforation; C. Automobile

1. Introduction Automotive corrosion is classied into three types, perforation corrosion, cosmetic corrosion, and edge corrosion. Perforation corrosion is the most important problem rather than cosmetic corrosion and edge corrosion. Corrosion-resistance quality targets for the automobile have been established in North America and northern Europe to reduce

Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 43 262 2451; fax: +81 43 262 2909. E-mail address: s-fujita@jfe-steel.co.jp (S. Fujita).

0010-938X/$ - see front matter 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2006.05.034

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automotive corrosion, including the Canada Code I (1978), Canada Code II (1981), Nordic Code (1983), and the voluntary targets of US Big 3 (GM, Ford, Chrysler; 1989). Subsequently, requirements for corrosion resistance have become progressively higher, as seen in the voluntary 12-year corrosion guarantee proposed by the major European automakers in 1998. Since the 1990s, studies of the actual condition of automotive corrosion in areas where deicing salt was used have been conducted in Europe, North America, and Japan [19]. Rendahl [5] collected a large number of auto parts from vehicles used in northern Europe and investigated corrosion in these specimens. The results revealed that the main factor aecting perforation corrosion in automobiles was not the type of coating, but the coating weight. The authors [69] also reported the main factor aecting perforation corrosion was coating weight regardless of type of coating, based on corrosion analysis of actual automobiles collected in North America. It is dicult to achieve the perfect agreement between the corrosion phenomena in accelerated corrosion tests and those in actual vehicles. Eorts have been made to establish the correlation between the test results and the corrosion resistance in actual automobiles. In the present study, the perforation corrosion resistance in zinc- and zinc alloycoated steel sheets were investigated quantitatively. Based on the analysis of actual automobiles and the evaluation of accelerated corrosion test methods, the corrosion resistance for perforation in actual environment using accelerated corrosion tests will be discussed. 2. Experimental procedure 2.1. Corrosion analysis method of actual automobiles Automobiles driven for 511 years in North America were collected. The recovery area was Detroit, Michigan (USA), where deicing salt was used. The lapped steel panels in the recovered automobiles were disassembled, the paint lm was stripped, and the corrosion products were removed. The surface corroded in the crevice was then divided into unit sections. Using a micrometer with a protruding tip, the maximum depth of corrosion in the respective sections was measured as the dierence with the sheet thickness in normal parts. An extreme value (double exponential probability) analysis of the maximum corrosion depth occurring in each part was performed using the Gumbel distribution [10] and the mode of maximum corrosion depth in each part of automobiles was obtained.

Table 1 Accelerated corrosion test methods Test no. T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Test method Corrosion test of automaker A Corrosion test of automaker B JASOM609-91 SAE J2234 5days type SAE J2234 7days type

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2.2. Accelerated corrosion test methods Table 1 shows accelerated corrosion test methods used in evaluations of perforation corrosion. Corrosion test methods T1 and T2 are used by two automakers, respectively, and T3, T4 and T5 have been standardized as the cosmetic corrosion test methods by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), respectively. The corrosion tests were performed by wet and dry cycle, including the wet period of immersion, salt spray or humid environment. Table 2 shows the types of coated steel sheets used in the corrosion tests. The structure of the specimen used in the corrosion tests is shown in Fig. 1. The specimen was assembled by stacking and spot welding coated steel sheets of the same type. After spot welding, zinc phosphate-type chemical conversion treatment was performed (manufactured by Nihon Parkerizing; coating weight on outer side; 3 g/m2), and electrodeposited paint was applied (manufactured by Kansai Paint; lm thickness on outer side: 20 lm).
Table 2 Materials used for accelerated corrosion tests Sign CRS EG20 EG50 EG70 ZnNi30 GA40 GA45 GI50 GI60 GI90 GI100 Materials Cold rolled steel sheet Electro galvanized steel sheet Coating weight (g/m2) 0 20 50 70 30 40 45 50 60 90 100

ZnNi Electro galvanized steel sheet Galvannealed steel sheet Galvanized steel sheet

180 150

70

40

45 Spot welding
Fig. 1. Lapped type of specimen used for accelerated corrosion tests.

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3. Results 3.1. Perforation corrosion in actual automobiles Fig. 2 shows the relationship between the mode of maximum corrosion depth in the lapped part of the side-sill and the used period. Wax was not applied to these parts. Assuming the thickness of steel substrate in the outer panel is 0.7 mm, it can be understood that perforation corrosion will not occur in panels for at least 14 years with GI (coating weight: 120 g/m2), whereas, the perforation life is estimated at approximately 8 years with GA (coating weight: 35 g/m2).

1.0

Mode of maximum corrosion depth / mm

without wax

SIDE SILL

0.8

0.6

GA(35g/m GA(35g/m 2)
2) GI (120g/m2

0.4

0.2

0.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Used Period in field / year

Fig. 2. Relationship between the mode of maximum corrosion depth in the lapped part of the side-sill and the used period.

Mode of maximum corrosion depth / mm

1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 50 Test cycles 100
GA45 EG50

CRS EG50 GA45 ZnNi30

CRS

ZnNi30

150

Fig. 3. Relationship between the mode of maximum corrosion depth and the number of test cycles in corrosion test T1.

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3.2. Perforation corrosion evaluation by accelerated corrosion tests Fig. 3 shows the relationship between the mode of the maximum corrosion depth and the number of test cycles in corrosion test method T1 (automaker A). It can be understood that lapped specimens began to be corroded immediately after the start of the test cycle and then corrosion progressed in a basically linear manner with cold rolled steel (CRS). In comparison, the onset of corrosion was delayed and corrosion of the steel sheets began after a certain incubation period of time with Zn and zinc alloy-coated steel sheets. 4. Discussion 4.1. Corrosion process of perforation The authors [9] proposed the corrosion process aecting Zn coated steel sheets in lapped panels of automobiles dividing by periods s1s4. Stage 1: Stage in which the Zn coating lm covers the entire surface of the substrate steel and the coating lm itself is corroded (s1), Stage 2: Stage in which the Zn coating is partially lost and the Zn lm is sacricially corroded protecting the substrate steel (s2), Stage 3: Stage in which the substrate steel sheet is corroded but corrosion is restrained by zinc corrosion products (s3), and Stage 4: Stage in which the substrate steel is corroded at the same rate as uncoated steel (s4). This corrosion process of GI (120 g/m2) with the corrosion-resistant sides facing each other in North America is shown schematically in Fig. 4. The corrosion-resistance period s1s3 during which Zn coating displayed the protective eect was approximately 9 years. Within this period, the corrosion-resistance period during which corrosion of the substrate steel was restrained by Zn corrosion products (s3) was 4 years, and thus accounted for approximately 45% of the total corrosion-resistance period attributable to the Zn coating (s1 s3).

Fig. 4. Schematic corrosion process of zinc coated steel in the crevice of lapped panels in automobiles.

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4.2. Life prediction method using accelerated corrosion test Figs. 5 and 6 show the relationship between the mode of maximum corrosion depth and the coating weight in the corrosion tests T3 and T1 in this study. As shown in Fig. 5 corrosion test T3 gives the results in which the coating weight is not the controlling factor, and the use of ZnNi or GA is a more important factor in the corrosion resistance than the coating weight. As shown by arrows in this gure, the corrosion resistance of GA40 and ZnNi30 can be estimated to be equal to pure zinc with coating weights of 142 g/m2 and 68 g/m2, respectively. Thus, it can be understood that corrosion test T3 is not reproducible the phenomena observed in actual automobiles. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 6, corrosion test T1 identied heavier coating weights as the primary factor in sup0.8 0.7 0.6

Mode of maximum corrosion depth / mm

C RS CRS
0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1

G I6 0 GI60 EG20 E G 20 EG E G 50 50 Z nN 3 ZnNi30 i0 G A 40 GA40 G I1 00 GI100

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Coating weight / g/m2

Fig. 5. Relationship between the mode of maximum corrosion depth and the coating weight of specimen in 150 cycles of corrosion test T3.

1.0

Mode of maximum corrosion depth / mm

0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

C RS CRS

E G 20 EG20 ZZnNi30 nN 3 i0

E G 40 EG40 G A 45 GA45 E G 50 EG70 EG50 E G 70 EG90 E G 90

Coating weight / g/m2

Fig. 6. Relationship between the mode of maximum corrosion depth and the coating weight of specimen in 120 cycles of corrosion test T1.

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pressing perforation corrosion. GA45 and ZnNi30 show similar corrosion resistance to that of zinc coating (EG, GI) with the same weights. Thus, it can be said that corrosion test T1 reproduces the phenomena observed in actual automobiles with comparatively good accuracy. From the viewpoint of atmospheric corrosion, Zhang [11] has reported on the relationship between corrosion test methods and corrosion in actual environments, focusing on the ratio of the corrosion rates of zinc and steel. In order to clarify the relationship between these corrosion test methods and corrosion in actual vehicles, the authors studied the corrosion-resistance period (s1 + s2 + s3) attributable to protection by the pure zinc coating such as EG or GI and the corrosion period of steel substrate (s4). Actual corrosion conditions aect not only the period s1 + s2 + s3 but also the period s4. Thus for the evaluation of perforation corrosion the authors proposed a Perforation Corrosion Index (PCI) for lapped steel panels including all periods of corrosion s1, s2, s3 and s4 as follows: Perforation Corrosion Index PCI V Steel =V Coating where, VSteel and VCoating (VZn) are dened as follows: V Zn tcoating =s1 s2 s3 V Steel tsteel =s4 2 3 1

tcoating and tsteel are thickness of coating and substrate steel. The corrosion-resistance eect P of the coating layer relative to the substrate steel sheet is dened as follows: P s 1 s 2 s 3 =s 4 4 The value of PCI for the side-sill in an actual environment (Detroit, North America) was calculated from Fig. 4 as follows: V Zn 120 g=m2 =9 year 13:3 g=m2 =year 1:8 lm=year V Steel 750 lm=5 year 150 lm=year PCI 82 5 6 7

Thus the accelerated corrosion test conditions resulting in the PCI value close to 82 would be similar to the actual corrosion conditions for automobiles in Detroit. Table 3 shows VZn, VSteel and PCI evaluated in each corrosion test. VZn was evaluated using the data of pure zinc coating steel sheets (EG or GI) with heavy coating weight. PCI of each corrosion test method is dierent to each other. Fig. 7 shows the protective eect of coatings, P for GI100, GA45 and ZnNi30 as a function of PCI in addition to the data of corrosion in actual automobile environment for automobile.
Table 3 VZn, Vsteel and PCI evaluated in accelerated corrosion tests and real environment Test no T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Actual automobile VZn (lm/cycle) 0.073 0.47 0.18 0.23 0.13 1.8 (lm/year) Vsteel (lm/cycle) 7.3 7.7 3.4 6.6 7.2 150 (lm/year) PCI 98 16 19 29 56 82

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Side sill of Automobile in Detroit = 82

T2 Automaker B = 16

T3 JASO M609 = 19

T4 SAE-5days = 29

T5 SAE-7days = 56

2.0 1.8 1.6

Steel Thickness=0.7mm

T1 Automaker A = 98

GI100g/m 2

1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

ZnNi30g/m 2 GA45g/m 2
60g/m 2 50g/m 2 40g/m 2 30g/m 2

P, ( 1 + 2 + 3 )

PCI
Fig. 7. The protective eect of zinc and zinc alloy coatings, P for each test and an actual environment of automobiles as a function of Perforation Corrosion Index, PCI.

P of zinc coating for GI100 was directly calculated from the relation P = PCI (tcoating/tsteel) for tsteel = 0.7 mm and tcoating = 0.014 mm. For P of zinc alloy-coated steel sheets of GA45 and ZiNi30 the same gures as Figs. 5 and 6 were obtained for tests T2, T3 and T4. P values for GA45 and ZnNi30 were estimated using Eqs. (2)(4) from VZn and Vsteel given in Table 3 and a steel sheet thickness of 0.7 mm in addition to tcoating of zinc corresponding to the weight of pure zinc estimated from the corrosion depth of GA45 and ZnNi30 in gures including Figs. 5 and 6. Accordingly, the eect of zinc alloy coatings is evaluated in terms of the weight of zinc coating. It is clear from the gure that under inadequate experimental conditions such as low PCI, both zinc alloy coatings behaved as quite a thick zinc coatings, whereas under the actual corrosion conditions for automobiles, that is, PCI 82, the eective thickness of zinc for these alloy coatings was far lower than thick zinc coatings such as GI100. Consequently, the data for the individual coating under the given accelerated corrosion test conditions should be plotted in the PPCI relation, for estimation of the performance of the coating in the actual corrosion conditions and for selection of the accelerated corrosion test conditions close to the actual corrosion conditions of automobiles. As it can be expected that the PCI will also dier depending on the position in the auto body, this method can be expanded to the corrosion life prediction for individual parts of the automobile. Moreover, the eect of new materials in the actual environment can be evaluated by extrapolation/interpolation of PCI to actual automobiles, combining various corrosion test methods. 5. Conclusions (1) The main controlling factor aecting perforation corrosion on actual automobiles was coating weight regardless of type of coating. (2) The perforation corrosion process in Zn coated steel sheets was divided into four stages.

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(3) Based on the analysis of corrosion in actual automobiles, Perforation Corrosion Index, PCI for lapped steel panels was proposed. (4) PCI for lapped portion in the side-sills of vehicles driven in North America was calculated to be approximately 82. (5) PCI is considered as the eective index for evaluation of the corrosion test conditions in various accelerated corrosion test methods in relation to the actual environment for automobiles.

References
[1] Peter Elliott, in: Corrosion/91, NACE, Cincinnati, 1991, Paper No. 378. [2] Staan Hedlund, Automotive Corrosion and Prevention (ACAP), SAE, Dearborn, 1993, pp. 255261. [3] T.C.Simpson, A.W. Bryabt, G. Hook, R.J. Swinko, R.W. Miller, in: Corrosion/95, NACE, Orlando, 1995, Paper No. 394. [4] M. Nakazawa, Y. Miyoshi, D. Davidson, in: Corrosion/95, NACE, Orlando, 1995, Paper No. 375. [5] Bo. Rendahl, in: Corrosion/98, NACE, Paper No. 741, 1998. [6] Sakae Fujita, Hiroshi Kajiyama, in: Corrosion/95, NACE, Paper No. 378, 1995. [7] Sakae Fujita, Hiroshi Kajiyama, in: Corrosion/98, NACE, Paper No. 541, 1998. [8] Sakae Fujita, in: Proc. of 4th International Conference on Zinc and Zinc Alloy Coated Steel Sheet (Galvatech98), ISIJ, Chiba (1998) pp. 686691. [9] Sakae Fujita, Hiroshi Kajiyama, Zairyo to Kakyo 50 (2001) 115123. [10] E.J. Gumbel, Statistics of Extreames, Columbia Univ. Press, 1958; M. Hirabayashi, H. Iwasaki, transl., Fundamentals of X-ray Crystallography (Translation), Tokyo, Maruzen, 1978, pp. 529. [11] X.G. Zhang, J. Hwang, W.K. Wu, in: Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Zinc and Zinc Alloy Coated Steel Sheet (Galvatech 98), ISIJ, Chiba, 1998, pp. 410415.