Woodgrain defect on tinned steel Flandres foil

Tin electrocoated steel strip, also referred to as Flandres foil, is largely used for manufacturing food containers. Tinplates must have good corrosion resistance, workability, weldability, as well as a bright appearance. The woodgrain defect, a not yet fully understood defect that occurs on tinplates and accounts for their high scrap rate, consists of alternate bands of bright/dull reflectivity and resembles longitudinally cut wood. Observations of the woodgrain defect by scanning electron microscopy showed that the molten tin spreads irregularly during both the melting and solidification stages. X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the metallic tin tended to crystallize in the (200) direction for coupons with and without the woodgrain defect. Nevertheless, the preferential orientation degree decreased for coupons with the woodgrain defect. The rocking curves, also known as omega-scan, showed that the tin grains were uniformly aligned parallel to the strip surface for coupons with no defects, whereas for tinplates with woodgrain, the tin grains were not uniformly oriented, probably due to the misalignment of the grains in relation to the surface.

The woodgrain defect occurs on Flandres tinplates and consists in the formation of alternate bands of different reflectivity (bright/dull), which looks like longitudinally cut wood. X-ray diffractometry showed that the typical bright surface of tinplate is associated to the uniform distribution of aligned (200) Sn grains, whereas in tinplate with the woodgrain defect, the Sn grains were not uniformly oriented, due to the misalignment of the (200) Sn planes relative to the surface.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights
► The bright surface of tinplate is associated to the uniform distribution of aligned (200) Sn grains.
► The woodgrain defect on tinplate consists in alternate bands of bright/dull appearance.
► In tinplate with the woodgrain defect, the Sn grains were not uniformly oriented, due to the misalignment of the (200) Sn planes relative to the surface.