A Noble Gas Wiping System to Prevent the Edge Overcoating in Continuous Hot-dip Galvanizing

A noble method is proposed to prevent the edge overcoating (EOC) that may develop near the edge of the steel strip in the gas wiping process of continuous hot-dip galvanizing. In our past study (ISIJ International, Vol. 27 (2003), No. 10, pp. 1495–1501), it was found that the EOC is caused by the alternating vortices which are generated by the collision of two opposing jets in the region outside the steel strip. In the present study, the flow field around the gas wiping system has been analyzed numerically and it was found that when the two opposing jets collide at an angle much less than 180°, the alternating vortices disappear and the impinging pressure on the steel strip surface becomes nearly uniform. In order to deflect both jets downward by a certain angle, a cylinder with small diameter is installed tangentially to each exit of the lower lips of the two-dimensional opposing jets. The three dimensional flow field with the proposed device is analyzed numerically by using the commercial CFD software, STAR-CD. And the coating thickness is calculated by solving the boundary layer momentum equation with an integral analysis method. In order to compare the present noble method with the conventional edge baffle plate method to prevent the EOC, the flow field with edge baffle plates is also calculated. The calculation results show that the tangentially installed cylinder at the lower lip of the jet exit is significantly more effective than the edge baffle plate.