Metallurgical assessment of critical defects in continuous hot dip galvanized steel sheets

Development of hot dip zinc coated sheets in new applications increased demand for production of high quality galvanized coatings, but the presence of surface defects reduces the quality of these products. In order to alleviate the problem, one needs to know the extent to which the properties of a galvanized sheet are influenced by the presence of a given defect. In this paper, specimens including any of the four major defects of continuously galvanized steel sheets produced in an industrial continuous process have been studied. The defects, including scratches, bare spots, pimples and wrinkle bands, were microstructurally characterized and their influence on corrosion behavior of the coated sheet was evaluated. The defects, originating from insufficient cleaning procedure, improper quality of steel substrate or adhered metallic particles to the substrate surface, exert their main effects on corrosion resistance and surface quality. Corrosion behavior was examined via standard salt spray test and polarization test. Based on the experimental results, it was concluded that the corrosion resistance was influenced by severity of defects; bare spots reduced the overall corrosion resistance of galvanized sheet by 39% ± 1% and pimples by 10% ± 1% as compared to defect free specimens.