KAGAKU KOGAKU RONBUNSHU, Vol.29, No.1, 70-75, 2003
Behavior investigation of intermetallic compounds in a hot dip galvanizing bath
The surface of the galvanized strip applied to exposed automotive panels is strictly required to be of good appearance. A lot of intermetallic compounds, so-called dross, exist in a molten zinc bath, and the dross adheres to the surface of the strip. In order to prevent the adherence, the behavior of the dross in the bath should be understood. Thus, in the present study, the density of the dross was examined by sedimentation in the bath used in the product line, and three-dimensional multi-phase flow analysis was conducted to reveal the dross distribution. The terminal velocity of the dross was proved to follow Stokes' low based on the density of delta1 phase (of Fe-Zn intermetallic compound) converted into a sphere. The dross was found to accumulate on the bottom of the bath near the inletregion rather than the outlet, where the velocity and the turbulence energy are low.
Keywords:continuous galvanizing pot;molten zinc;intermetallic compounds;dross;computational fluid dynamics;multi phase flow