The effect of silicon on the structure and properties of hot-dip aluminium-based coatings

The continuous increase in demand for aluminum coatings for the automotive industry is associated with the need to improve their quality in terms of protective and mechanical properties. The aluminum coatings produced hot-dip, on the border with the steel substrate formed intermediate phases FeAl3, and Fe2Al5, which reduce the corrosion resistance and limit the possibility of forming a coated article. The paper determines the effect of the addition of 7% Si to an aluminum coating (690°C/60 s) on the microstructure thickness and type of intermediate phases as well as hardness and surface features. It has been shown that the addition of Si results in a 40 % increase in the hardness of the coating and reduce the surface roughness. In addition, is limited interdiffusion of Al and Fe, as a result of which an intermetallic phase layer is formed, Al7-9Fe2Si enriched phase, 4 times thinner than a coating without the addition of Si, while maintaining the thickness of the outer coating layer.