The application of Nb to automotive sheet steels in Baosteel

The growth of China’s automotive industry and demands for automotive sheet steels are briefly reviewed. The current status of development of automotive sheet steels (including hot-rolled,cold-rolled and coated steels), especially for Nb-bearing steel in Baosteel is introduced. The future of automotive sheets in Baosteel is forecasted. At the same time, the effects of Nb and Ti on mechanical properties of a newly developed HSLA590 high strength galvannealed (GA) sheet steel are described. Compared to Ti, Nb-bearing steel has a better stability of the mechanical properties and better galvannealability. The precipitation of the annealed steel is also discussed in this paper. (AU)