Bake Hardening Steel Application Study - Key Factors of Dent Resistance Improvement

On exterior automotive body panels it is generally accepted that the substitution of a bake hardening, BH grade of steel for a drawing quality special killed, DQSK grade improves the dent resistance performance. However, the amount of performance improvement varies depending on the specific body panel and the loading conditions applied. The objective of this study was to quantify and define the key factors related to the dent resistance performance difference. Specifically, body panels of the same part and outer panel gage, one BH the other DQSK, were compared hased on the load required to produce a visible dent and the resulting dent depth. While the results were specific to the panel tested, the key factors to be considered when comparing BH and DQSK panels were identified.