Atmospheric corrosion of Galfan coatings on steel in chloride-rich environments

Galfan coatings on steel in laboratory exposures with predeposited NaCl and cyclic wet/dry conditions exhibit nearly the same corrosion products as after 5 years of marine exposure. A general scenario for corrosion product evolution on Galfan in chloride-rich atmospheres is proposed. It includes the initial formation of ZnO, ZnAl2O4 and Al2O3 and subsequent formation of Zn6Al2(OH)16CO3⋅4H2O, and Zn2Al(OH)6Cl⋅2H2O and/or Zn5Cl2(OH)8⋅H2O. An important phase is Zn6Al2(OH)16CO3⋅4H2O, which largely governs the reduced long-term zinc runoff from Galfan. A clear influence of microstructure could be observed on corrosion initiation in the slightly zinc-richer η-Zn phase adjacent to the β-Al phase.