The Influence of Galvanizing Parameters on the Structural Development of Zn-Al-Based Coatings

The evolution of some layers’ characteristics, deposited by galvanization, was monitored according to the technological parameters of the process. Two types of alloys from the Zn-Al and Zn-Al-Ti-B systems were used for deposition. The structure of the deposited layers was analyzed by optical and electron microscopy. The chemical composition, phases and compounds in the structures were identified. The mechanical properties of the structural constituents of the layers were determined by nanoindentation. These techniques highlighted the typical non-uniformities in terms of composition and properties in the layers, mainly due to the diffusion and distribution of iron from the steel substrate in the deposited layers. The evaluation of iron diffusion in the deposited layer was done by differential thermal analysis. The values of the critical temperatures (melting temperature, eutectic temperature and solidification temperature) were correlated with the parameters used during deposition. It was observed that the structure of the coatings is layered, with a specific order from the steel substrate to the edge. In these layers, the constituents are mixtures of soft solid solutions of Al in Zn ( η and β ) and hard intermetallic compounds. Moreover, increasing the immersion time in the galvanizing bath and the bath temperature leads to an increase in iron diffusion in the coating layer, which contributes to lower coating thickness, thus reducing its durability in operation.