How Is Galvanized Steel Made?

Packed rolls of steel sheet
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Galvanized steel is the most popular material in the field of construction and industrial production. Unlike ordinary steel, galvanized steel has a special coating, the purpose of which is to protect the product from corrosion. The zinc coating provides physical and electrochemical protection of steel. Physical protection is to prevent contact between the steel base and the harmful environment by creating a specific barrier. Zinc coating has good adhesion to steel. In places of violation of the zinc coating (scratches, holes), due to its properties, special zinc salt products (hydroxides, carbonates and zinc sulfates) appear which protect the edges of the sheet and the places of damage to the coating. Electrochemical protection of zinc is carried out in wet environments at the edges of the sheets and holes for self-tapping screws. Since zinc is a more active metal, its gradual destruction occurs over time, which prevents corrosion of the steel base. Therefore, the thicker the zinc layer, the longer the protection period for steel.

When choosing the right galvanized sheet, it is necessary to take into account all environmental conditions and areas of its application in order to properly select the type and grade of galvanized steel. You can purchase top quality galvanized steel coils.

Properties of galvanized steel sheet

The main properties of galvanized sheet include the fact that the material is well amenable to machining using the methods of rolling, stamping, drawing and bending. And also, it should be noted that the steel sheet after galvanization has all the characteristics of “stainless steel“. Galvanized steel sheet must comply with all technical characteristics. The standard also applies to cold-rolled coil, sheet steel, coated with zinc in hot-dip galvanizing units, designed for painting, for the production of stamped parts, containers, utensils and other iron products. According to the standard, the dimensions of galvanized steel can vary as follows: width from 71 cm to 150 cm, and thickness from 0.4 mm to 1.5 mm.

How exactly is galvanized steel rolled metal produced?

To obtain the production of galvanized sheet, steel sheet is coated with special branded zinc. This coating can be applied on both sides and on one side of the sheet. The thickness of the coating can vary depending on the further application of the galvanized sheet, as well as the expected degree of humidity of the environment of its application.

The production of galvanizing takes place on specialized hot dip galvanizing units. This is the most common method of manufacturing galvanized sheet. Also, there are two more options for the production of this type of metal — it is a galvanic method and cold galvanizing, but they are used quite rarely.

Galvanizing sheet is produced in several stages. The first stage is the firing of the steel sheet. Next, proceed to the second stage — after firing, the sheet is placed in a bath with molten zinc. This is the process of obtaining high corrosion resistance characteristics.

For better protection of the surface of the sheet, its conservation is carried out: passivation, oiling or oiling and passivation. Quite often, these procedures are used simultaneously.

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