Influence of Ti and La Additions on the Formation of Intermetallic Compounds in the Al-Zn-Si Bath

The effect of Ti and La additions on the formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the galvalume (55Al-Zn-1.6Si wt pct) bath was investigated experimentally and further studied with first-principles calculation. The studied baths contain: 1 wt pct Fe, with Ti content ranging from 0.05 to 0.15 wt pct and La content ranging from 0.05 to 0.30 wt pct. Combination of the experimental results with the thermodynamic analysis shows that the solubility of Fe in the alloy bath decreases with an increase of Ti content, which results in the formation of mass dross. Compared with the Ti-containing alloy, La promotes the formation of tau (5) phase (Fe2Al8Si). When both Ti and La are added, Fe4Al13, tau (5), tau (6) (beta-Al4.5FeSi), TiAl3, and Ti2Al20La phases were observed. Since these IMCs would consume more Si in the bath, the decrease of Si content with Ti and La additions is more significant than that of the bath without these additions. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of Ti/TiAl3/Ti2La20La core-shell structure in the coating bath is proposed. This study has implications for strategic design of industry hot-dip production with exceptional mechanical properties of Al alloy coating.