Effects of silicon on galvanizing coating characteristics in dual phase high strength steel

In the galvanizing coating process, the effects of the silicon content on the coatability and wettability of molten zinc were investigated on Dual-Phase High Strength Steels (DP-HSS) with various Si contents using the galvanizing simulator and dynamic reactive wetting systems. DP-HSS showed good coatability and a well-developed inhibition layer in the range of Si content below 0.5 wt%. Good coatability was the results of the mixed oxide Mn₂SiO ₄, being formed by the selective oxidation on the surface, with a low contact angle in molten zinc and a large fraction of oxide free surface that provided a sufficient site for the molten zinc to wet and react with the substrate. On the other hand, with more than 0.5 wt%, DP-HSS exhibited poor coatability and an irregularly developed inhibition layer. The poor coatability was due to the poor wettability that resulted from the development of network-type layers of amorphous SiO₂, leading to a high contact angle in molten zinc, on the surface.