Material & Metalurgi

Hot dip Galvanizing

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 Applications

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 Zinc galvanizing ≠ Zinc electroplating

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 Definition of Hot-dip galvanizing
Dipping steel Creating a metallurgical
pieces into a reaction between iron
molten zinc bath and zinc

• Zinc will not react with unclean steel • Classification

• integrity of the coating is immediately apparent as the steel is
removed from the galvanizing bath • Galvalume: 55% Al, 43.4%
• The galvanized coating is metallurgically bonded to the Zn and 1.6% Si
steel • Galvan: 95% Zn and 5% Al
• The zinc coating is more than just a barrier coating, actually become
part of the steel and protect the substrate steel cathodically
• Improved deformation behavior
• Higher corrosion resistance at thermal stress and
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 Hot-dip galvanizing process
source: American Galvanizers Association (AGA)

Surface preparation

Bath method
(Discontinuous (batch) methods (for profiles cut to length, construction
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 Hot-dip galvanizing for steel strips and wire

Hot-dip sheet
(Continuous methods for steel strips and wire)

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 Surface preparation: Solution cleaning
• The surface preparation step → quality control because zinc will not react with unclean steel.
• Surface preparation for galvanizing consists of three steps:

DEGREASING FLUXING
PICKLING

• Degreasing - A hot alkali solution (pH

range 11 and 12), mild acidic bath, or • Pickling – A dilute solution of heated sulfuric • Fluxing – The final surface preparation step
biological cleaning bath acid or ambient hydrochloric acid removes in the galvanizing process, a zinc ammonium
• removes organic contaminants such mill scale and iron oxides (rust) from the chloride ((NH4)2ZnCl4) solution, serves two
as dirt, paint markings, grease, and oil steel surface. purposes.
from the metal surface. • As an alternative to or in conjunction with • It removes any remaining oxides and
• Epoxies, vinyls, asphalt, or welding pickling, this step can also be accomplished deposits a protective layer on the steel to
slag, must be removed before using abrasive cleaning or air blasting sand, prevent any further oxides from forming on
galvanizing by sand-blasting, or other metallic shot, or grit onto the steel. the surface prior to immersion in the molten
mechanical. zinc.
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 Solution cleaning
• High pH (pH > 13) → will damage the zinc
coating
• The best solution temperature range → 60
– 85oC
• For newly galvanized steel → a water –
based emulsifier can be used to remove
contaminant. After that rinse with hot water
and followed by drying

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 Galvanizing Process

Immersed in Reacts with iron Withdraw

molten Zinc (Fe) slowly

The material is completely While immersed → the zinc Once the fabricated items coating
immersed in a bath of molten zinc. reacts with the iron in the steel growth is complete, they are
The bath chemistry is specified by to form a series of zinc/iron withdrawn slowly from the
ASTM B6, and requires at least 98% intermetallic alloy layers. galvanizing bath, and the excess
pure zinc maintained at zinc is removed by draining,
approximately 840 F (449 C). vibrating, and/or centrifuging.

The metallurgical reaction will continue after the articles are withdrawn from the bath, as
long as the article remains near bath temperature. Articles are cooled either by immersion
in a passivation solution or water or by being left in open air.

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 Schematic representation of galvanizing reactions
with as a function of dipping time

Dissolution of Fe Nucleation and growth Diffusion of Fe through

of inhibition layer inhibition layer

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 Microstructure
• Most of the Zinc alloy
is nearly pure zinc.
• Structure:
• Near to the steel-
coating interface are
prismatic particles of
zeta phase,
• Alpha zinc-iron
intermetallic
compound containing
about 6% Fe.

Layer Formation in Hot - dip

Batch Galvanizing Between
435 ° C and 620 ° C
• The basis for layer - formation processes in batch galvanizing
are the reactions between zinc and iron. Through reciprocal
diffusion, intermetallic Fe - Zn phases are formed
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 Microstructure: galvanized vs electroplated

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 Microstructure of galvanized coating
(h)

(z)

(d)

(G)

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 Hot – dip galvanizing product

https://www.askthebuilder.com/galvanized-nails-rust/

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 Material & Metalurgi

Silicon content in steel killed

 Parameters: The steel type → content
• Apart from the immersion time and, above all, from the
melting temperature, layer growth is also dependent on the
steel type (content of Si and P).
• 0.015 – 0.020% P, its influence is negligible
• < 0.035% Si, which has to be taken into consideration in
explanations of the galvanizing behavior.

Note: The steel is fully deoxidised (killed) before casting by the addition usually of silicon,
manganese and aluminium, but also sometimes vanadium, titanium and zirconium.

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 The effect of silicon in the steel on galvanizing
The effect of silicon in the steel on galvanizing
• In hot - dip galvanizing release the hydrogen absorbed during pickling.
Classification of Si content
• Low – silicon range ( <0.035% Si)
• Sandelin effect (Range 0.035 – 0.12% Si )
• Sebisty effect (Range 0.12 – 0.28% Si )
• High - silicon Range ( > 0.28% Si )

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 The effect of silicon in the steel on galvanizing

Hydrogen
Concatenated pore chains
in the zinc coating typical
for absorbed molecular
hydrogen

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 Influence of Alloying Elements of the Melt on
Layer Formation
• Conventional Zinc Melts
• Alloyed Zinc Melts

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 Conventional Zinc Melts
• Pure zinc → lead was added (during the initial years of the
development of hot - dip galvanizing).
• Contains small quantities of other metal contaminants like
copper
• Small quantities of tin and aluminum were added for optical
reasons (brilliance, spangle).

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 Alloyed Zinc Melts

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 Common alloy elements
• Pb → precipitates at different spots in the coating, however,
in particular near the surface in the form of small droplets (1
to 5 μ m).
• Sn → accumulates at the external boundary of the palisade
layer ( ζ phase) between the dross crystals.
• If Bi is alloyed, the Sn/Bi/Pb mixture between the palisade -
shaped crystals can penetrate the zinc coating up to the
compact δ 1 layer and loosen the bond in this layer.

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 Common alloy elements
• Ni, Ti and V, → small amount (Ni amounts to approximately
0.05%)
• Al → The formation of a thin intermetallic phase of FeAl3 or
Fe2Al5 on the steel surface that is stable at least in the initial
galvanizing phase and inhibits the galvanizing process for a
certain time.

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 Common alloy elements
• Pb, up to approximately 1%→
because its high density causes
it to sag to the bottom of the
zinc tank facilitating the removal
of the dross.
• It also protects the tank bottom
from the direct attack of the zinc
melt.
• On the other hand, it reduces the
surface tension of the zinc melt
and results in smooth coatings.

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 Reduction of coating thickness through the addition of 0.054% Ni
to the zinc me(Steel with 0.08% Si, 445 ° C, 5 min) (a)
Conventional melt (b) alloyed melt with nickel addition

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 Material & Metalurgi

Inspections
 Inspection
• The two properties: coating thickness and coating
appearance.
• A variety of simple physical and laboratory tests
may be performed to determine thickness,
uniformity, adherence, and appearance.
• Products are galvanized according to long
established, accepted, and approved standards
(i.e. ASTM, ISO, CSA etc) and these standards
cover everything from the minimum coating
thicknesses required for various categories of
galvanized items to the composition of the zinc
metal used in the process.
Simple and quick.
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 Post - treatment
• The purpose of after - treatment of galvanized surfaces is their
protection against white rust.
• The usual treatment, however, rarely applied, is
• chemical passivation, → Chemical passivation by means of chromate -
containing and chromate - free solutions or phosphating principally
requires methods otherwise only used in electroplating
• lubrication with oil, or
• coating with organic or inorganic materials.
• It has to be stated that the best after - treatment is the
respective proper storage of the galvanized products

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 Surface profiling
• The galvanized surface must be flat (no protrusions
and slightly roughened to provide anchor for paint
• Tool: hand tools or power grinder (be careful with
specific thickness)
• Sweep blasting
• Particle size → 200 – 500 microns
• Materials → Aluminum/magnesium silicate or organic
media (corn cobs, walnut shell), corundum, limestone and
sands (Mohs <5)
• Best time → when the galvanized steel still at
temperature 79 – 199oC after process → excellent
profile for painting
• Relative humidity < 50%; temperature > 21oC
Sweep basting ≠ near white cleanness standard
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 Zinc galvanizing coating protection on steel

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 Zinc coating corrosion

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 Zinc coating corrosion

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 References
• Peter Maaß and Peter Peißker, Handbook of Hot-dip
Galvanization, Wiley-Vch Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 2011
• Indra Laksmana, Coating over hot-dip galvanized steel, 10
years of service coating summit 2016, ASCOATINDO
Conference and Exhibition, Bali, 2016
• J.F.H. van Eijnsbergen, Duplex Systems hot-dip Galvanizing
plus Painting, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1994

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 Material & Metalurgi

Duplex system
 Combination zinc galvanizing and painting

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 Duplex coating system

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 Paint selection

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 Sample: Painting over galvanized steel

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 Duplex system performance

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