Enhancement of adhesion in coated steels through excimer laser surfacing

Galvanize and galvanneal steel sheet are used extensively by the automotive industry. Through a process of excimer laser surface treatment, we have succeeded in significantly enhancing the adhesion characteristics of these coated steels. Preliminary adhesion tests have been carried out via simple ‘T’ peel testing, using a hot melt nylon resin as the adhesive substrate. The peel test results indicate that, for particular processing conditions, enhanced adhesion exceeding the cohesive strength of the nylon adhesive can be obtained. The results of peel testing are augmented using scanning electron microscopy and profilometry data to correlate adhesion characteristics with surface topography.