The Effects of RE and Si on the Thickness and Cross Section Morphology of Zn-6Al-3Mg Alloy Coating

Abstract

Hot-dip galvanized steels are widely used in modern industry. The corrosion resistance and formability of them are closely related to the thickness and cross section microstructure of the hot-dip coating. In this paper, the effects of Si and RE on the thickness of Zn-6Al-3Mg alloy coating (ZAM) were investigated. Steel sheets were coated by using an experimental hot-dip galvanizing simulator. The thickness and cross section microstructure of ZAM coating alloyed with different content of Si and RE were characterized by using optical microscope and SEM, and element distribution was study by EDS. The results demonstrated that the reaction between Al from the bath and Fe form the steel sheets was suppressed by the addition of 0.1 wt. % Si to the Zn-6Al-3Mg bath, and the addition of RE effectively decreased the thickness of coating by means of improving the flowing property of the zinc alloy bath. Under the combined effects of Si and RE, the thickness of Zn-6Al-3Mg alloy coating went down from 33 μm to 10.1 μm.