Papers by Keyword: Zn-Al Coating

Abstract: Hot-dip galvanizing (HDG) is a widely adopted industrial process for enhancing the corrosion resistance and service life of steel products; however, it is also characterized by high energy and material consumption. In this study, a process-oriented Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is applied to compare the environmental performance of two industrial steel wire coating routes: conventional hot-dip zinc (Zn) coating and zinc–aluminum (Zn–Al) coating. The analysis is based on primary data collected from an industrial galvanizing line operated by Metallurgica Abruzzese S.p.A. (Italy) and focuses exclusively on the manufacturing stage, using a gate-to-gate approach. The system boundary includes surface preparation, thermo-metallurgical coating treatment—comprising induction annealing, hot-dip galvanizing and, for the Zn–Al route, an additional molten Zn–Al bath—followed by wire cooling and final handling operations. Results show that the Zn–Al coating route leads to a significantly higher environmental impact at the manufacturing stage, with an approximately 44% higher GWP100 compared to conventional Zn coating. Contribution analysis reveals that this increase is primarily driven by the additional thermo-metallurgical coating step, which entails higher material input and thermal energy consumption, rather than by aluminum content alone. The findings highlight the dominant role of material selection and thermal process management in determining the environmental performance of industrial galvanizing lines.

Abstract: Cored wires and high velocity arc spraying technique (HVAS) were used to produce high Mg content Zn-Al-Mg alloy coatings on low carbon steel substrates. The microstructures, mechanical properties and electrochemical corrosion behaviors of the Zn-Al-Mg coatings were investigated comparing with Zn and Zn-Al alloy coatings. And the electrochemical corrosion mechanisms of the coatings were discussed. The coatings show a typical aspect of layered thermal sprayed material structure. Chemical analysis of the coating indicated the composition to be Zn-14.9Al-5.9Mg-3.0O (wt.%). The main phases in the coatings are Zn, Mg2Zn11, Al12Mg17 and MgAl2O4, together with a little Al2O3 and ZnO. The corrosion potential of Zn-Al and Zn-Al-Mg coatings decreased a little and then increased towards the noble potential. With addition of Mg, the corrosion products accumulated to form stable passive film can block off the pores in the Zn-Al-Mg coating, and thus may prevent attack on the underlying steel substrate. The Zn-Al-Mg coatings show higher electrochemical corrosion resistance in salt solution than Zn-Al coatings.

Abstract: Steel is still the main construction material for automobiles, general equipment and industrial machinery. Hot dipping has been proven to be an excellent method of corrosion protection of steels for a wide range of applications worldwide. Coatings of Zn-Al alloys on steel sheet have high corrosion resistance due to the corrosion prevention ability from Zn and the passivation of Al Bath composition, immersion velocity/time and substrate composition are the hot dipping parameters that more influence on the thickness and corrosion resistance of the deposited coating. In order to study their influence small amounts of magnesium were added. Experiments were performed in a hot dipping simulator using different substrates, bath compositions and hot dipping parameters. Surface layers were characterised by: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX or EDS). Cyclic corrosion tests were performed in order to observe the corrosion resistance for different Zn-Al-Mg coatings. Results show that the microstructure and composition of the substrate strongly affect the desired coating properties. Nevertheless, the influence of the magnesium on coating thickness is relevant, increasing when added in small quantities in a molten bath of Zn-5wt %Al. The quality and microstructure of the coating is affected by the amount of Mg in the bath. Cyclic corrosion tests results show that the quality of the coating is affected by the amount of Mg in the bath.

Abstract: This work aims to investigate the feasibility of Zn-Al deposition on low alloy steels at temperatures from 400 up to 440oC by pack cementation process aiming to increase their corrosion resistance. A series of experiments were undertaken to investigate the effects of pack powder composition and the deposition temperature of the process. It was observed that the parameters of zinc content and temperature affect only the coating deposition speed, but not the phase composition of the as produced coating. Al forms an overlying layer that seals the zinc coating. In any case, the deposition of successive layers of Zn and Al is feasible with pack cementation. The corrosion performance of Zn-Al coatings formed with alternative methods is already studied and proved to be resistant in harsh environments. So the herein studied coatings are expected to be corrosion resistant. Furthermore as Al is much more resistive than Zn, these coatings are more effective than pure Zn ones.