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The Impact of Preheating and Postcooling on Critical-

to-Quality Characteristics in Hot-Dip Galvanizing
a a a
T. Qasim , M. Al-Faouri & O. Al-Araidah
a
Industrial Engineering Department , Jordan University of Science and Technology , Irbid ,
Jordan
Accepted author version posted online: 31 Aug 2014.Published online: 17 Nov 2014.

To cite this article: T. Qasim , M. Al-Faouri & O. Al-Araidah (2014): The Impact of Preheating and Postcooling on Critical-to-
Quality Characteristics in Hot-Dip Galvanizing, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, DOI: 10.1080/10426914.2014.952036

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 Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 0: 1–5, 2014
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1042-6914 print=1532-2475 online
DOI: 10.1080/10426914.2014.952036

The Impact of Preheating and Postcooling on Critical-to-Quality

Characteristics in Hot-Dip Galvanizing
T. Qasim, M. Al-Faouri, and O. Al-Araidah

Industrial Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

Hot-dip galvanizing (HDG) is a widely used method for protecting steel against corrosion to ensure structure’s life expectancy. The HDG
Downloaded by [Jordan Univ. of Science & Tech], [Tarek Qasim] at 23:21 19 November 2014

process includes surface preparation, galvanizing, and posttreatment operations where multiple stage parameters are controlled to ensure
the optimal utilization of zinc to achieve expected results at minimum cost. In this experimental study, we investigated the influence of
preheating temperature and the postcooling methods on critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristics in HDG at various sample thicknesses.
Measured CTQ characteristics included the thickness, hardness, roughness, and microstructure of the coated layers. Obtained results
showed that coating thickness decreased as preheating temperature increased and as sample thickness decreased. The selection of the post-
cooling method impacts largely coating hardness and surface roughness both increased as the thickness of the specimen increased and as the
preheating temperature increased. Microstructure analysis of coatings illustrated that there was an increase in the variation of readings as
the sample thickness increased and as the preheating temperature decreased. Therefore, HDG parameters must be tuned to account for
variations in the thicknesses of galvanized structures to better ensure life expectancy.

Keywords Coating thickness; Hot-dip galvanizing; Postcooling; Preheating; Sample thickness.

INTRODUCTION et al. studied the effect of phosphorous surface

Iron and steel rust is the formation of hydrated iron
oxide as a result of a chemical reaction when a ferrous
compound is exposed to ambient conditions. This reac-
tion is active and continues until the entire corroded part
is consumed. To prevent steel rusting, the target part is
covered with a material that does not react with oxygen
when it is exposed to ambient conditions and prevents
moisture from reaching the surface of the part. Hot-dip
galvanizing (HDG) is the process of inundating iron or
steel with a chemically clean surface in a special tank
of liquid zinc to form an anti-corrosion surface [1].
The life of the zinc coating depends on the thickness
and structure of the coating layers. The variation of each
coating layer is a function of multiple process factors
governing the chemical reaction.
HDG principles have remained unchanged since gal-
vanizing first became a trade more than 150 years ago,
but a vast amount of research on all aspects of the pro-
cess has enabled galvanizing today to be a technically
advanced industry [1–3]. In an effort to understand
and eliminate the problems associated with the galvaniz-
ing process, several studies have been performed to
understand the galvanizing process and to identify and
optimize critical parameters of the process. The vast
majority of previous research focused on the chemical
reaction and the iron oxidization process that might
affect the characteristics of the zinc coating layer. Jordan
Received May 26, 2014; Accepted July 18, 2014
Address correspondence to T. Qasim, Industrial Engineering
Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid,
Jordan; E-mail: tqqasim@just.edu.jo
segregation on iron–zinc chemical reaction. They con-
cluded that the phosphorous surface segregation has
no effect on the Fe–Zn growth in 0.0 wt% Al–Zn bath,
while 0.2 wt% Al–Zn bath showed a linear growth of
both P-ion implemented and non-P-ion implemented [4].
The effect of substrate grain size on the iron–zinc reac-
tion studied by Jordan and Marder [5], who found that
for large (85 mm) substrate grain size the nucleation of
Fe–Zn layer, was significantly retarded, while for smaller
grain size (15 mm) outbursts were found. They concluded
that for large grain sizes the immersion time should be
increased to form the outburst of Fe–Zn layer. The
effect of iron oxide as an inhabitation later and the effect
of dew point and the reactive wetting during HDG were
studied [6, 7]. They found that the iron oxide layer acted
as a barrier layer in the pure zinc bath, while high dew
point atmosphere significantly contributed to the
decrease in Zn coating defects. Duran and Langill [8]
investigated techniques to remove wet storage stain
defects without dulling the galvanized surface on galva-
nized commercially available products. The wet storage
stain, also known as the white rust, is a common prob-
lem that results in complete deterioration of the zinc
coating. This problem is commonly found in tightly
stacked or bundled items with zinc surfaces such as gal-
vanized bars and plates. The study showed that provid-
ing adequate air flow to and removing standing water
from newly galvanized surfaces prevent wet storage
stain. Rahrig [9] showed that surface preparation affec-
ted significantly the performance of powder-coated gal-
vanized steel. Yoo et al. [10] investigated the effect of
the air-knife system in controlling coating thickness.
Another study of the influence of air-knife tilting on

1
 2 T. QASIM ET AL.
coating thickness by Cho et al. [11] concluded that the
nozzle of constant expansion with downward jet angle
of 5 is the most effective to diminish splashing. This
is consistent with Soon-Bum Kwon’s findings, that
constant expansion rate nozzle was more favorable for
the problem of splashing in comparison with covenantal
one [12]. Jo et al. suggested a two-step method to
calculate the coating thickness, which consists of air-jet
analysis and they validate the new method with
traditional coating thickness calculations [13]. More
recently, Kim et al. [14] studied the effect of surface fin-
ish condition and thickness of Zn=Al coating to deter-
mine the slip coefficient criteria. Choi et al. [15]
studied single coated defect of galvanized steel at micro-
Downloaded by [Jordan Univ. of Science & Tech], [Tarek Qasim] at 23:21 19 November 2014
level utilizing FE-SEM microscopy. In addition, several
studies concentrated on the influence and improvement
of coating by studying the effect of alloying elements
of the zinc bath [16, 17].
Due to the fact that the formation of Fe–Zn coating
is due to chemical reaction that might be affected by
temperature during the formation of the zinc layer and
the thickness of the coating layer was affected by the
postcooling process which had a significant effect on
continuity and the rate of the reaction. To improve zinc
coated steel and overcome some of the defects noticed by
engineers at Jordan Pipes Company according to indus-
trial standard procedures, this paper investigates the
effects of the preheating temperature and the postcool-
ing method on quality characteristics of the Fe–Zn coat-
ing for various sample thicknesses by utilizing four
samples thicknesses, three preheating temperatures,
and two postcooling treatments. To the best of our
knowledge, no one has looked at these variables exper-
imentally to confirm if these variables have effects on
coating thickness, defects, and properties to improve
the overall zinc coating.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
HDG is an efficient metallurgical method for protect-
ing steel from corrosion by dipping steel alloys into a
bath containing molten zinc which results in preventive
zinc coating layer over the steel. The HDG process con-
sists of three main stages including pretreatment, galva-
nizing, and posttreatment processes. The experimental
procedure followed in the study is briefly outlined below
with parameters particularly relevant to this study. All
samples were galvanized at Jordan Pipes Company
(JOPIPES) in accordance with the company’s general
practice.
A total of 72 rectangular steel samples with 4 different
thicknesses, 1.2, 3, 5, and 10 mm, were used in this study
with 18 specimens of each thickness. Table 1 shows the
chemical composition and mechanical properties of the
DIN 17100 grade St37 structural steel used in this study.
This steel is commercially available and is widely used in
galvanizing industry.
The pretreatment process includes (1) degreasing:
immersing the specimens in a bath containing alkaline
solution in order to remove oils and any contamination
TABLE 1.—Chemical composition (maximum quantities) and mechanical
properties of the structural steel used in the study.
Tensile Yield
C Mn P S strength strength Elongation
0.2(%) 1.4(%) 0.035(%) 0.03(%) 320–520 195 20(%)
(N=mm2) (N=mm2)
at the surface; (2) rinsing: immersing specimens in cold
running water for 2 min to avoid carryover of the alka-
line degreasing solution; (3) pickling: this treatment
removes any oxides contamination and rust by treat-
ment in hydrochloric or sulfuric acid; (4) rinsing after
pickling: uses a running water bath to avoid the buildup
of iron salts on specimen; and (5) fluxing: immersing
specimen in a flux solution for a certain time, depending
on the ammonia and iron contents of the solution and
the complexity of the shape of specimens.
In this study, steel samples were immersed in a degrea-
ser, and then were rinsed in running water. Samples were
pickled in hydrochloric acid (18% HCl) for 20 to 30 min
at ambient temperature to remove rust and scale. Then it
was rinsed again in a water bath and dipped in a flux sol-
ution of ZnCl2(66%) and NH4Cl (44%). The immersion
time depended on the test of ammonia and iron content
of the solution and it was between 1 and 2 min due to
samples’ simplicity. The temperature of the pickling
bath was maintained at 70 C. Ammonium chloride
was added whenever ammonia concentration dropped
to less than 500 g=L.
To study the effect of preheating temperature, the
samples were heated using the preheating unit available
at the factory where tests are performed. This unit uti-
lizes hot exhaust air produced by the molten zinc bath
brought through ducts into the temperature controlled
heating unit (area). The samples were subjected to pre-
heating treatment at temperatures ranging from 100 to
200 C. To insure that the samples where heated uni-
formly all through, the temperature of each specimen
was measured using an infrared thermometer (II IR
608A AMPR0BE) before being dipped in the zinc bath.
The galvanizing process is the reaction between iron
and zinc to form a continuous and adherent coating.
Several factors affecting this reaction have to be
controlled: (1) zinc quality and additives; (2) bath tem-
perature; (3) immersion rate and time; and (4) with-
drawal rate. All factors were precontrolled and fixed
during experimentation in accordance with standard
procedures utilized by the industry.
TABLE 2.—Measured parameters.
100 150 200
Temperature ( C)
Posttreatment Air Water Air Water Air Water
Total no. of samples 
12 12 12 12 12 12

3  1.2 mm; 3  3 mm; 3  5 mm; 3  10 mm (3 trials of each thickness).
 THE IMPACT OF PREHEATING AND POSTCOOLING ON CTQ CHARACTERISTICS
In posttreatment, samples were cooled by air or water
baths to prevent white rust. Samples were postcooled in
air for slow cooling at 28–30 C for 30 min, or quenched
in water for fast cooling at 25 C in static water for
10–15 min. Table 2 presents a summary of the studied
factors.
The effects of various preheating temperatures and
cooling methods on critical-to-quality (CTQ) character-
istics of the coating were studied. Investigated CTQs
include coating thickness, surface roughness, and coat-
ing hardness. Moreover, samples were visually inspected
for bare spots, distortion, rough surface, black spots,
white rust, low coating, zinc peaks, and dross patches.
Downloaded by [Jordan Univ. of Science & Tech], [Tarek Qasim] at 23:21 19 November 2014
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Visual inspection revealed several visual defects
including bare spots, buckling, and black spots. Bare
spots occur because of inadequate surface preparation,
excess aluminum in the galvanizing kettle, or lifting aids
that prevent coat from forming. The product must be
re-galvanized to overcome bare spots. Thermal buckling
was more noticeable in specimens of thicknesses with 1.2
and 3 mm more than in 5 and 10 mm thick specimens.
This could be attributed to fast cooling rate during the
posttreatment process, slow cooling rate should be con-
sidered when dealing with thin shapes. Black spots were
observed in some samples due to process related prob-
lems including low fluxing materials or less efficient
degreasing. Figure 1 shows an example of an uncoated
area and black spots found in samples having a
thickness of 1.2 mm and preheated at 200 C and water
cooled. The sample were cut along the defected area
and viewed from the side. Samples that failed visual
inspection were rejected and replaced by new galvanized
samples for mechanical testing. The effects of studied
parameters on black spots were not studied. In addition,
it is well documented that black spots appear in samples
due to fluxing and degreasing issues.
Coating thickness is an important factor in the HDG
because it is directly related to the amount of zinc used
which directly affects the cost [18]. It was inspected using
an electronic digital thickness gauge (Electrometer 345
FB – MK 11) with scale range of 0–1500 mm. This gauge
is widely used in the industry for its accuracy and
FIGURE 1.—An illustration of uncoated area and black spots found on the
surface of a sample, viewed from the side after cutting the sample along
the defected area.
3
simplicity of use. A gauge reading for Fe–Zn coating
thickness is taken by simply placing the magnetic probe
at 20 different points of the coated surface at both sides
of each sample. The average of 10 consistent readings
from each side were then computed and compared to
related ISO standard; DIN EN ISO 1461 – ASTM
A123=123 [19].
Coating thickness of steel samples subjected to three
preheating temperatures and two cooling methods for
various sample thicknesses is shown in Fig. 2. Preheating
the steel samples at 100 C gave the highest coating thick-
ness at different sample thickness. As the preheating
temperature increased, the coating thickness decreased.
The effect of cooling method on coating thickness inter-
acted with the preheating temperature and the sample
thickness. For 1.2 mm sample thickness, air cooling
method gave higher coating thickness than water cooling
method at 150 and 200 C preheating temperatures
(Fig. 2 (a)). For the 3 and 10 mm sample thicknesses,
the water cooling method gave higher coating thickness
than air cooling method at all preheating temperatures
(Figs. 2(b) and 2(d)). For the 5 mm sample thickness,
there was no difference in coating thickness between
the two cooling methods at different preheating tem-
peratures (Fig. 2(c)). The results suggested that preheat-
ing at 100 C and water cooling method for steel of
thickness of 10 mm resulted in the highest coating thick-
ness. For air cooled samples, there was no significant
impact of the preheating temperature on coating thick-
ness; this can be attributed to the increased time for
the chemical reaction to take place. Moreover, results
illustrate that coating thickness increased as the thick-
ness of the specimen increased regardless of preheating
or posttreatment methods. It seems that dipping time
in this case has a greater influence on coating thickness
as the chemical reaction time increases with dipping
time.
Rockwell hardness test machine scale B was used to
test the hardness of all 72 samples. Ten readings were
taken from both sides and the averages of best five read-
ings were considered from each side for three trials for
samples having the same variables. Coat hardness values
for steel samples preheated at 200 C and subjected to
two cooling methods were shown in Fig. 3. Samples
cooled with water had higher coat hardness values at dif-
ferent thicknesses than samples cooled with air. Samples
with 10 mm thickness had significantly higher coat hard-
ness values than samples with 1.2, 3, and 5 mm. This can
be attributed to a higher coating thickness in 10 mm
samples as shown in Fig. 2.
Surface roughness (surface finish deviation and tex-
ture) test was implemented at Jordan University Science
and Technology Engineering workshop, using ‘‘SUR-
TRONIC 3P Device.’’ This device is a completely
self-contained surface roughness instrument with total
portability, it can be operated on horizontal or vertical
surfaces, this device uses very thin pin which moves in
a straight path and measures the surface deviations then
converts it to profile reading. All of the 72 samples
tested and 3 paths were taken for every sample and
 4 T. QASIM ET AL.
Downloaded by [Jordan Univ. of Science & Tech], [Tarek Qasim] at 23:21 19 November 2014

FIGURE 2.—Effect of air and water cooling methods on coating thickness for steel samples with thicknesses of (a) 1.2 mm, (b) 3 mm, (c) 5 mm, and
(d) 10 mm.

automatically the device gives the average reading. The

effect of three preheating temperatures and two cooling
methods on coat roughness of steel samples was pre-
sented in Fig. 4. As the sample thickness increased, the
roughness increased for all preheating temperatures
and cooling methods. The air cooling method resulted
in higher roughness than the water cooling method at
each sample thickness. As the preheating temperature
increased, the roughness decreased. In conclusion, the
highest roughness was achieved for 10 mm thickness
samples subjected to 100 C preheating temperature
and air cooling method.
FIGURE 3.—Effects of air and water cooling methods and sample thickness
on coat hardness. Values for samples preheated at 200 C. CONCLUSIONS
The objective of this study was to experimentally inves-
tigate the influence of preheating temperature and the
postcooling methods on quality characteristics of the Fe–
Zn coating for various sample thicknesses. Four individual
tests carried out for each group of samples and compared
with the international standards ISO 1461 (ASTM A123=
123); visual inspections, coating thickness, hardness, and
roughness. The following conclusions can be derived in
relation to the different variables tested in this study:

1. All samples tested for visual defects such as bare spots,

distortion, black spots, white rust, and dross patches
were found to be satisfactory. In some cases, the sam-
ples were replaced and galvanized until visual inspec-
tion was satisfactory according to ISO standards.
2. Coating thickness was directly related with steel thick-
FIGURE 4.—Effects of preheating temperatures of 100, 150, and 200 C and ness and decreased with the preheating temperatures.
steel sample thickness on coat surface roughness for samples subjected to The coating thickness increased as sample thickness
air and water cooling methods with air cooling. increased at the same pre heating temperature and
 THE IMPACT OF PREHEATING AND POSTCOOLING ON CTQ CHARACTERISTICS
same cooling method, with no effects on coating
thickness by different cooling method. Slow cooling
by air has no significant effect on coating thickness.
3. The hardness values were not affected by the pre-
heating temperature and the sample thickness. Slight
effect of postcooling method by water increased
the hardness values for most samples at several
thicknesses.
4. As the preheating temperature increased the surface
roughness increased. Increasing sample thicknesses
increased the surface roughness over all preheating
temperatures utilized in this study under the same
cooling methods. There was a proportional relation-
ship between sample thickness and roughness due to
Downloaded by [Jordan Univ. of Science & Tech], [Tarek Qasim] at 23:21 19 November 2014
increasing coating thickness as increasing sample
thickness. Furthermore, surface roughness values
were lower using water cooling method in comparison
with air cooled specimens, i.e., lower cooling rates.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors greatly acknowledge the collaborations
of Jordan Pipes Company (JOPIPES) for using their
facilities, the central workshop and material laboratory
personnel at Jordan University of Science and Tech-
nology for their assistance during testing.
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