Study of the Mechanical Properties of the Hot Dip Galvanized Steel and Galvalume®

Steel sheet coated with zinc or 55% Al-Zn is widely used at the civil construction, mainly for roofing and cladding applications. The 55% Al-Zn coated steel shows mechanical properties slightly different from zinc coated steel, even under the same heat cycle processing, due to the higher molten metal temperature and also to the higher strength of the 55% Al-Zn coating. The knowledge of those differences can be used by the final users to evaluate if some of those products are not suitable for any specific application. Although those two coated products are widely used at the civil construction in Brazil, only a limited literature is available on the difference between the mechanical properties of those products. Through tensile tests of commercial grade samples - as coated and after removing the coating - the aim of this paper is to evaluate the mechanical properties (tensile strength, yield strength, total elongation and hardening coefficient) and also how much the coating influences the mechanical properties of the zinc and 55% Al-Zn coated steel. The 55% Al-Zn coated steel showed higher yield and tensile strength and lower total elongation and hardening coefficient compared to zinc coated steel and the coating showed a significant influence on the mechanical properties of both products.