Evaluation of surface mechanical properties of pot hardware materials in continuous galvanizing lines.

摘要

Pot hardware in continuous galvanizing lines is subjected to harsh and corrosive environment. The application of pot hardware in such conditions can cause surface degradation of the pot hardware materials thereby decreasing their life. The surface degradation can be due to wear, decrease in hardness or change in surface elastic modulus. The 500-lb lab scale test set-up at WVU was used to simulate the conditions existing in the actual continuous galvanizing line.; Ultrasonic equipment has gained immense importance in the field of non-destructive testing. One such instrument that measures surface hardness based on the shift of an ultrasonic frequency was used for measuring the on-site hardness of pot hardware materials. The hardness measured by the instrument is also a function of the elastic modulus of the material. The change in surface elastic modulus was determined theoretically based on the governing equation for the instrument.; The change in surface hardness and elastic modulus was explained and correlated to the corresponding microstructural analyses.