12th International Conference on Zinc & Zinc Alloy Coated Steel Sheet - GALVATECH 2021

For decades, baffles became the standard tool to limit the edge effects of wiping in the hot dip galvanizing process (overcoating, splashing). Initially designed to highly reduce the noise caused by the interaction of the two opposite air jets, baffles exhibited as well benefits to master the quality of the wiping process along the edges. Each line acquired specific designs and setup to reach their quality levels and to solve their quality issues. A wiping pilot has been developed in ArcelorMittal Maizières laboratory in 2013. The only concession on the scale is the width of the nozzle (1/3, 700mm), but still large enough for the edge effects study. This pilot trials coupled with CFD simulations allowed to: - identify the main parameters (baffles and nozzles designs) acting on the edge effects intensity, - provide baffles setup recommendations according to the wiping configurations (nozzle distance, coating weight, pressure) - test the performances of alternative designs. This experimental phase clearly reduced the need of industrial trials (time, costs and risks) while keeping the possibility to test a large number of setup and designs.