• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.300-308
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• 1995

The effect of nitrogen finishing for the control of coating weight in a nitrogen sealing box on the coating surface property in hot dip galvanizing process has been studied. The coated surface is free of oxide marks and edge overcoated. The coating uniformity is excellent ; the standard deviation of the coating thickness along width of the specimen was $1~1.2\mu\textrm{m}$ in the box whereas $2.5~3\mu\textrm{m}$ in the air. Considering surface quality of the coating such as oxide mark, edge overcoated and zinc dust, the oxygen content between 40 and 200 ppm was suggested in the box in addition the oxygen content of at least 40 ppm or the minimum dew point of $-27^{\circ}C$ is required to prevent a zinc vaporization.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.121.5-121
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• 2001

For the last decade, remarkable progress in the coating weight uniformity of hot dip galvanized product has been made to overcome the tightening quality constraints and produce cost-effective galvanized products. This progress results from research and development works for more efficient air knife, more accurate model of coating process, more precise measurement of coating weight and more efficient control logics. The activities for an efficient mathematical model to predict coating weight and several control logics which has been implemented on the No.1 CGL, No. 2 CGL, and PGL at KwangYang Steel Works are reviewed in this article.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

In the process of continuous hot-dip galvanizing, it is well known that the gas wiping through an air knife system is most effective because of its uniformity in coating thickness, possibility of thin coating, workability in high speed, and simplicity of control. However, gas wiping used in the galvanizing process brings about a problem of splashing at the strip edge above a certain high speed of process. It is also known that the problem of edge splashing is more harmful than that at the mid strip surface. For a given liquid(of a certain viscosity and surface tension), the onset of splashing mainly depends upon the strip velocity, the gas-jet pressure, and the nozzle's stand-off distance. In these connections in the present study, we proposed three kinds of air knife system having nozzles of constant expansion rate, and compared the jet structures issuing from newly proposed nozzle systems with the result by a conventional one. In numerical analysis, the governing equations are consisted of two-dimensional time dependent Navier-Stokes equations, and the standard k-${\varepsilon}$ turbulence model is employed to solve turbulence stress and so on. As the result, it is found that we had better use the constant expansion-rate nozzle which can be interpreted from the point view of the energy saving for the same coating thickness. Also, we better reduce the size of separation bubble and enhance the cutting ability at the strip surface, by using an air-knife having constant expansion-rate nozzle.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.43-46
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• 2011

Zinc consumption in a continuous galvanizing line is one of the highest operating cost items in the facility and minimizing zinc waste is a key economic objective for any operation. One of the primary sources of excessive loss of zinc is through the formation of top dross and skimmings in the coating pot. It has been reported that the top skimmings, manually removed from the bath, typically consist of more than 80% metallic zinc with the remainder being entrained dross particles ($Fe_2Al_5$) along with some oxides. Depending on the drossing practices and bath management, the composition of the removed top skimmings may contain up to 2 wt% aluminum and 1 wt% iron. On-going research efforts have been aimed at in-house recovery of the metallic zinc from the discarded top skimmings prior to selling to zinc recycling brokers. However, attempting to recover the zinc entrapped in the skimmings is difficult due to the complex nature of the intermetallic dross particles and the quality and volume of the recycled zinc is highly susceptible to fluctuations in processing parameters. As such, an efficient method to extract metallic zinc from top skimmings has been optimized through the use of a specialized thermo-mechanical process enabling a continuous galvanizing facility to conserve zinc usage on-site. Also, through this work, it has been identified that filtration of discrete dross particles has been proven effective at maintaining the cleanliness of the zinc. Future efforts may progress towards expanded utilization of filters in continuous galvanizing.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.29 no.10 s.241
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• pp.1156-1162
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• 2005

In this study, 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 (Trans. of the KSME (B), Vol. 27, No. 8, pp. $1105\~1113$), it was found that EOC is caused by the alternating vortices which are generated by the collision of two opposed jets in the region outside the steel strip. When the two opposed jets collide at an angle much less than $180^{o}$, non-alternating stable vortices are established symmetrically outside the steel strip, which lead to nearly uniform pressure on the strip surface. In order to deflect both jets downward by a certain angle, a cylinder with small diameter is installed tangentially to the exit of the lower lip of the two-dimensional jet. In order to find an optimum cylinder diameter, the three dimensional flow field is analysed numerically by using the commercial code, STAR-CD. And the coating thickness is calculated by using an integral analysis method to solve the boundary layer momentum equation. In order to compare the present noble method with the conventional baffle plate method to prevent the EOC, the flow field with a baffle plate is also calculated. The calculation results show that the tangentially installed cylinder at the bottom lip of the jet exit is more effective than the baffle plate to prevent EOC.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.228-234
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• 2024

Zinc wiping is a phenomenon used to control zinc-coating thickness on steel substrate during hot dip galvanizing by equipment called air knife. Uniformity of zinc coating weight in length and width profile along with surface quality are most critical quality parameters of galvanized steel. Deviation from tolerance level of coating thickness causes issues like overcoating (excess consumption of costly zinc) or undercoating leading to rejections due to non-compliance of customer requirement. Main contributor of deviation from target coating weight is dynamic change in air knives equipment setup when thickness, width, and type of substrate changes. Additionally, cold coating measurement gauge measure coating weight after solidification but are installed down the line from air knife resulting in delayed feedback. This study presents a coating weight control model (Galvantage) predicting critical air knife parameters air pressure, knife distance from strip and line speed for coating control. A reverse engineering approach is adopted to design a predictive, prescriptive, and descriptive model recommending air knife setups that estimate air knife distance and expected coating weight in real time. Implementation of this model eliminates feedback lag experienced due to location of coating gauge and achieving setup without trial-error by operator.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.364-372
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• 2003

In continuous galvanizing process, dissolution of iron into molten zinc results in a fairly great amount of dross. In order to decrease dross, the amount of dissolved iron of strip in molten zinc was investigated in the range of 0∼0.22%Al content, 440∼$470^{\circ}C$ strip temperature and 3∼60 sec dipping time. Uniform Fe-Al-Zn inhibition layer was formed in the coating layer/strip interface not only in the grain boundary but also in the grain of substrate with the increase of Al content in the zinc pot, while the amount of iron dissolution was decreased. Inhibition layer was unstable as the dipping time and strip temperature increased and the amount of iron dissolution increased.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.105-108
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• 2010

The product specification of the Continuous Hot Dip Galvanizing Line (CGL) changes and varies constantly with different customers' requirements, especially in the zinc coating weight which is from 30 to 150 g/$m^2$ on each side. Since the coating weight of zinc changes often, it is very important to reduce time spent in the transfer of target values changed for low production cost and yield loss. The No.2 CGL in China Steel Corporation (CSC) has improved the control of the air knife which is designed by Siemens VAI. CSC proposed an experiment design which is an $L_9(3^4)$ orthogonal array to find the relations between zinc coating weight and the process parameters, such as the line speed, air pressure, gap of air knife and air knife position. A non-linear regression formula was derived from the experimental results and applied in the mathematical model. A new air knife feedforward control system, which is coupled with the regression formula, the air knife control system and the process computer, is implemented into the line. The practical plant operation results have been presented to show the transfer time is obviously shortened while zinc coating weight target changing and the product rejected ratio caused by zinc coating weight out of specification is significantly reduced from 0.5% to 0.15 %.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2022

To understand effects of cooling rates of coating layer on microstructures and corrosion behaviors of hot-dip alloy coated steel sheets (Zn-5%Al-2%Mg) in a neutral aqueous condition with chloride ion, a range of experimental and analytical methods were used in this study. Results showed that a faster cooling rate during solidification decreased the fraction of primary Zn, and increased the fraction of Zn-Al phase. In addition, interlamellar spacing became refined under a faster cooling rate. These modifications of the coating structure had higher open circuit potentials (OCP) with smaller anodic and cathodic current densities in the electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization. Surface analyses after a salt spray test showed that the increase in the Zn-Al phase in the coating formed under a faster cooling rate might have contributed to the formation of simonkolleite (Zn₅(OH)₈Cl₂·H₂O) and hydrotalcite (ZnAl₂(OH)₆Cl₂·H₂O) with a protective nature on the corroded outer surface, thus delaying the formation of red rust.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.198-205
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• 2023

We investigated the effects of Al and Mg on the microstructure and hardness of the coating layer of galvanized steel sheets, by thermodynamic calculations, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Vickers hardness tests of Zn-0.2Al, Zn-6Al-2Mg, and Zn-10Al-5Mg coating layers. Regardless of the alloy composition of the galvanizing bath, a Fe-Al layer was observed between the coating layer and steel sheet. The Zn-0.2Al coating layer consists of major h.c.p. Zn phase and minor f.c.c. Al phase. The fraction of f.c.c. Al phase (containing a significant amount of Zn) of the coating layer increases with increasing the chemical composition of Al of the galvanizing bath. The h.c.p. MgZn₂ phase was formed in the Al/Mg-containing Zn-6Al-2Mg and Zn-10Al-5Mg coating layers, forming Zn-Al-MgZn₂ eutectic microstructure. The primary MgZn₂ phase was additionally formed in the Zn-10Al-5Mg coating layers containing high concentrations of Al and Mg. The Vickers hardness values of Zn-0.2Al, Zn-6Al-2Mg, and Zn-10Al-5Mg coating layers were 59.1 ± 1.2 HV, 161.2 ± 5.7 HV, and 215.5 ± 40.3 HV, respectively. The addition of Al and Mg increased the hardness of the coating layer by increasing the fraction of the Al phase (containing Zn) and MgZn₂ intermetallic compound, which were harder than the Zn phase.