Simulation of Zinc Solidification and Coating Profile on the Inner Surface of a Tube during Its Galvanisation

A simulation study was carried out for the first time on zinc solidification and coating profiles in tube galvanising for an industrial line. The entire process was simulated with the help of flow and heat transfer models and surface wave model in this computational heat transfer study. It was observed that the coating on tube inner surface gets solidified for more than one third of its length before the steam blowing to remove the extra zinc. This part of the tube thus becomes insensitive to steam blow for thickness control. The wavy coating profiles developed due to jet blowing of steam were predicted that matched well with the measured profiles from industrially made galvanised tubes.