Sn and Ti influence on damage of bent hot-dip galvanizing phases

Hot dip galvanizing is the most used technique in the metallic protection field. The coating formation is mainly due to interdiffusion phenomena between iron and zinc atoms. In the last years, the introduction of different elements allows to obtain baths optimized by different characteristics. For example, the presence of Sn in the bath fluidifies the bath and it allows the formation of coatings characterized by an improved homogeneity of thickness. Presence of Ti, allows to obtain different colors of coatings due to different oxidation of Ti in the coatings. In this work a comparison between coatings obtained by the presence of 3%Sn and 0.5%Ti in the baths has been investigated at five different dipping time. In order to analyse the kinetics of coatings formation and the intermetallic phases, longitudinal sections of the bended specimens have been metallographically prepared and observed by means of an optical microscope (LOM). Finally, the mechanical behaviour of all coatings has been investigated using bending tests carried out on specimens.