Thermosetting polyester-based coatings are used to produce pre-painted metal in the coil coating industry. The coated steel sheet is formed into white goods and architectural cladding, which involves large deformations of the metal and results in large strains in the coating. The Erichsen cupping test is a standard method used to assess the formability, ductility and adhesion of coatings, which induces similar strains to those experienced during forming. It is a qualitative and robust quality control method, but the behaviour of coatings during the test has never been previously studied quantitatively. Failure of coatings on sheet metal during forming is a strain-governed process, so understanding the behaviour of a coating in the Erichsen cupping test will allow the formability, material properties and chemical structure of the polymer to be linked more closely, enabling the development of better coatings. A finite element model has been developed to calculate the coating surface strains for any level of indentation during the test and has been validated using the surface strains during cupping measured by digital image correlation. A master curve of the maximum strain versus the indentation depth (Erichsen index) has been determined. This allows the strain to failure of the coating on a substrate, a critical material property which is otherwise difficult and laborious to obtain, to be simply determined from the Erichsen test for the first time. The relationship between the Erichsen index and maximum surface strain presented here enables users to obtain this material property both from future tests and from the results of historic tests (as many coating suppliers and users have extensive databases of Erichsen test results stretching back many years). This novel framework provides a quantitative method to analyse the performance of coatings used in the coil industry, redeveloping a century-old technique.

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Pre-painted sheet metal (e.g. coil coated with polyester-melamine) undergoes large deformations when formed into architectural cladding or white goods. The coatings provide protection and superior aesthetics, so must withstand failure by cracking or delamination during forming. The T-bend test is an industry standard test used to qualitatively compare the formability of coatings and mimics the conditions experienced during hemming processes. The failure of coatings during forming is strain governed, so understanding the surface strains in the T-bend test is of great interest to manufacturers. For the first time, the maximum surface strains experienced during the T-bend test have been predicted using finite element modelling (FEM) and verified experimentally using digital image correlation. The experimental shapes of the deformed blank are compared with the FEM results for further verification. In addition, a novel analytical model is proposed to determine the maximum surface strains. It is shown that strains of up to ~ 225% are applied during a 0T test (bent around a zero thickness spacer) reducing to ~ 23% at 4T (bent around a four times sheet thickness spacer). The finite element model, experimental data and new analytical model show excellent agreement and indicate that behaviour is independent of the substrate thickness or material used. Understanding the strain behaviour quantifies the formerly qualitative T-bend. This will improve the efficacy of the test, allowing metal formers and coating developers to better understand the performance requirements, to reduce waste and to develop better coatings. Graphical abstract

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