Effects of Al contents on microstructure and properties of hot-dip Zn-Al alloy coatings on hydrogen reduced hot-rolled steel without acid pickling

A new hot-dip galvanizing method was employed on hot-rolled low carbon steel. The effects of Al contents on microstructure, micro-hardness and corrosion resistance of Zn-Al alloy coatings were systematically investigated. Phase composition, microstructure and element distribution in Zn-Al alloy coatings were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron probe micro analysis (EPMA), respectively. It is found that Al content (0. 6-6. 0 wt. %) in galvanizing zinc affects surface quality and adhesion between coatings and matrix in the newly developed method. In addition, with increasing Al content, micro-hardness significantly increased due to the increase in Zn-Al eutectoid phases. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) also revealed that increase in Al plays a noticeable role in improving the corrosion resistance of Zn-Al alloy coatings.