LME susceptibility of galvanised welded structures of high strength steels

Hot dip galvanizing is a very popular and well known process in corrosion protection of steel. However, very occasionally, cracks appear on structures when they leave the zinc bath. The responsible crack phenomenon appears to be liquid metal embrittlement. This phenomenon is already known for a long time, but it is still not yet fully understood. The lack of fundamental theoretical knowledge and the absence of accurate models to predict liquid metal embrittlement oblige engineers to set up extensive test programs to determine an area of process parameters in which safe design is guaranteed. A qualitative understanding of the various influencing parameters during galvanizing is necessary to explain the occurrence of liquid metal embrittlement. This knowledge is also helpful to design an experimental test set up and procedure for evaluating the influence of one parameter where the effect of other parameters should remain constant. This master thesis deals with the occurrence of liquid metal embrittlement when galvanizing welded high strength steels. This paper gives an overview of the most important process parameters and gives a short description of possible future experimental work.

ISBN:9789490726010

Jaar van publicatie:2011

Toegankelijkheid:Open