ANÁLISIS DE LA RESISTENCIA ESTRUCTURAL EN ACEROS PREPINTADOS EMBOZADOS CON REDUCCIÓN DE ESPESOR

Prepainted and embossed steels with thicknesses between 0.35 and 0.50 mm are widely used in the manufacturing of cabinets for home appliances. Beyond providing an aesthetic surface finish, embossing induces surface deformation hardening and residual stresses, modifying the mechanical properties. In this study, low-carbon commercial steels with embossed and smooth surfaces were analyzed through tensile tests, vickers microhardness measurements, and optical microscopy to evaluate the influence of thickness and surface deformation. Results show yield strength average increases 12%, accompanied by an average reduction in ductility of 12%. Vickers hardness increased 11% for the embossed samples. Finite element simulations confirm that thinner sheets experience higher von Mises stresses under stacking loads, indicating greater susceptibility to plastic deformation. These findings contribute to optimizing the structural design of cabinets, ensuring improved mechanical performance under operational conditions.