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Abstract
Hot-dip galvanizing (HDG) is a widely used method for protecting steel against corrosion to ensure structure's life expectancy. The HDG 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 postcooling 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.