Zinc flowers are an important feature of the appearance of hot-dip galvanized sheets.
The surface of the hot-dip coating of the steel plate will appear a crystal pattern of the coating metal during solidification. This crystal pattern is especially obvious for galvanized plates, showing the appearance of beautiful zinc crystals. Because it is similar to snowflakes, this crystal pattern is usually called " Zinc flower".
zinc flower
How are zinc flowers generated?
The process of producing zinc flowers is not complicated. When the steel strip passes through the zinc pot, the surface is coated with liquid zinc. As the zinc layer solidifies naturally, the zinc grains nucleate and grow, and zinc flakes like snowflakes appear.
However, if the composition of the zinc liquid is of high purity, it will be difficult or even impossible to solidify to form zinc flowers, because the zinc liquid lacks the necessary crystallization nuclei.
Classification of galvanized sheets
According to the different surfaces of galvanized steel sheets, they are mainly divided into:
Flower galvanizing and flowerless galvanizing
What is flower galvanizing?
Flower galvanizing is also called normal zinc flower or large zinc flower. It refers to zinc flowers with a diameter greater than 3mm that can be distinguished by the naked eye. The internationally recognized optimal size of large zinc flowers is 8~12mm. The process is because after the steel plate is pulled out of the zinc liquid containing lead, antimony and other elements, the zinc grains grow freely, forming a galvanized steel plate with obvious zinc flowers.
What is flowerless galvanizing?
Flowerless galvanizing refers to zinc flowers that cannot be seen with the naked eye, also known as "zero zinc flowers". Flowerless galvanizing is mainly accomplished by controlling the chemical composition of the zinc solution. When hot-dip galvanizing, only a certain amount of aluminum is added to the zinc solution, without adding lead, antimony, or tin, to produce seamless galvanized products.
