Behavior of hot dip galvanized dual phase sheet steels at high rates of deformation

The aim to reduce the fuel consumption by reduction of car weight has become one of the main goals of the automotive industry. One way to reduce the car weight is the use of thin, ultra high strength dual phase steels, which are protected against corrosion by hot dip galvanizing. To simulate the behavior of these steels in the case of a sudden impact, information about their behavior at different strain rates is needed. In this research project, the compressive stress-strain response of four different hot dip galvanized dual phase steels was studied in the strain rate range of 10(-3)...10(3) s(-1). In the tests, stacked specimens consisting of several slices of thin sheet steels were used to obtain a reasonable length to diameter ratio and the required strain rates. The results are also compared with tensile tests conducted up to the strain rate of 200 s(-1).