Methods for Producing High-Strength, Cold-Rolled Steel Sheet

The growing emphasis on reducing automobile weight is likely to lead to the use of increasing quantities of high-strength, cold-rolled steel sheet in the near future. The reasons for this probable trend (such as production restrictions on producing hot-rolled sheets having thicknesses below 0.070 in and potential weight savings from thinner body panels) are reviewed briefly.

Because many steel producers are developing new steels and practices to expand their range of high-strength, cold-rolled sheet grades, the technical approaches available for producing high strengths in cold-rolled steel sheets are also reviewed. Possible methods for increasing the strength of steel sheets are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of various strengthening methods are discussed briefly from the viewpoint of the steel producer, who must consider the facilities and practices required for production, and from the viewpoint of the user, who expects the steel sheets to have specific engineering properties.