Many commercial galvanised steel sheets have been characterised before deformation
(grain size, grain distribution in the coatings, pre-cracking, individual orientations, misorientations
between neighbouring grains, local and global textures) in connection with
the zinc alloy which was used and the process parameters.The samples were bent by a biaxial expansion and examined afterwards. All the coatings
were pre-cracked before deformation.The extent of the pre-cracking depends on the intensity and the sharpness of the basal
planes texture of the coating and also on the misorientations across the grain boundaries.
In the same way, zinc primary dendrites and recrystallised grains can hinder the crack
propagation, limiting their extent.We can establish a correlation between the texture, the microstructure of the coatings
(using a concept that corresponds to the mean free path of the crack) and the formability.
As we know the process parameters, it is now conceivable that the texture of the coatings
could be controlled.