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Zn and Zn-based alloys attract interest due to an ability to protect steel surface against corrosion. Thin surface layer of a protective zinc alloy is usually prepared by hot dip galvanizing and acts as a barrier against corrosive environment or as a sacrificial anode in case the bare steel surface is exposed. Ability of zinc to protect steel surface against corrosion can be further increased by addition of alloying elements such as for example Al and Mg. These could be added in different amounts leading to a several-fold increase in corrosion resistance. Further elements are therefore studied in order to understand their effect on corrosion behavior and other properties such as for example ductility, hardness, wear resistance, etc.The aim of this paper is characterization of the ternary alloy Zn - 1.6 wt.% Al - 1.6 wt.% Mg which is further modified with addition of tin in a range from 0 up to 3 wt.%. Prepared by melting of elements with 4N purity under a Zincogen 318 flux layer in a ceramic crucible all compositions were left to solidify by air cooling outside a melting furnace. Structure analysis of as-cast alloys was carried out with a help of light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and led to the identification of following phases: Zn rich solid solution, Al rich solid solution, Zn2Mg and Mg2Sn. Furthermore, XRD was used to identify corrosion products which were formed during exposure of alloys in a salt spray chamber.
Keywords: Zn–based alloy, corrosion, salt spray test© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.