In recent years, in the fields of automobiles, home appliances, constructions, and the like, coated steel sheets in which rust preventive properties are given to base steel sheets, most of all, galvanized steel sheets and galvannealed steel sheets, have been used widely. Also, from the viewpoint of enhancement of fuel economy of automobiles and improvement in crash safety of automobiles, there are increasing demands to reduce the weight and enhance the strength of a car body in itself by reducing the thickness through enhancement in strength of car body materials. Consequently, application of high strength steel sheets to automobiles has been promoted.
In general, a galvanized steel sheet is produced by using a steel sheet, as a base steel sheet, prepared through hot rolling and cold rolling of a slab and subjecting the base steel sheet to recrystallization annealing and galvanization treatment in a continuous galvanizing line (hereafter referred to as CGL). A galvannealed steel sheet is produced by further performing alloying treatment after the galvanization treatment.
Here, examples of annealing furnace type of CGL include DFF type (direct fire type), NOF type (non-oxidation type), and all radiant tube type. In recent years, construction of CGL provided with a furnace of all radiant tube type has increased for the reason that, for example, a high quality coated steel sheet can be produced at a low cost because of ease of operation, difficulty in occurrence of pick up, and the like. However, in contrast to the DFF type (direct fire type) and the NOF type (non-oxidation type), the all radiant tube type have no oxidation step just before annealing and, therefore, is disadvantageous to a steel sheet containing easy-to-oxidize elements, e.g., Si and Mn, from the viewpoint of ensuring of the wettability.
As for methods for manufacturing a galvanized steel sheet, where a high strength steel sheet containing large amounts of Si and Mn is used as a base steel sheet, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method comprising steps of annealing at a recrystallization temperature to 900° C. and of coating. Patent Literature 2 discloses a method comprising steps of annealing at 750° C. to 900° C. and of coating. Patent Literature 3 discloses a method comprising steps of annealing at 800° C. to 850° C. and of coating. However, in the case where the high strength steel sheet containing large amounts of Si and Mn is annealed at a temperature higher than 750° C., Si and Mn in steel are selectively oxidized to form oxides on the steel sheet surface, so that adhesion of coating may be degraded and defects, e.g., coating defects, may be generated.
In addition, Patent Literature 4 and Patent Literature 5 disclose methods in which internal oxidation of steel surface layer is induced by specifying a heating temperature in a reducing furnace on the basis of a formula represented by water vapor partial pressure and increasing a dew point. However, it is assumed that a dew point control area is the whole inside of the furnace and, therefore, control of the dew point is difficult and stable operation is difficult. Meanwhile, in production of a galvannealed steel sheet under unstable dew point control, variations are observed in the distribution of internal oxides formed in the base steel sheet, and defects, e.g., variations in wettability and alloying, may occur in the longitudinal direction or the transversal direction of a steel strip.
Moreover, applications of high strength galvanized steel sheets and high strength galvannealed steel sheets to parts to be severely formed have been promoted recently, and coating peel resistance characteristics in high degree of forming have been valued. Specifically, when a coated steel sheet is subjected to bending of more than 90° and is bent to an acuter angle or when a coated steel sheet is formed by impact, suppression of coating peel in a formed portion is required.
In order to satisfy such requirements, not only ensuring of desired microstructure of a base steel sheet by addition of large amounts of Si to the steel but also higher level of control of microstructure and structure of surface layer of the base steel sheet just below the coating layer, which may become a starting point of cracking and the like at severe forming, are required. However, it is difficult for the conventional arts described above to perform such control and it is not possible to produce a galvanized steel sheet having excellent coating peel resistance at severe forming by using a Si-containing high strength steel sheet as a base steel sheet in a CGL provided with a furnace of all radiant tube type as an annealing furnace.