EXPERIENCE WITH A PILOT-PLANT FOR THE ELECTRODEPOSITION OF ZN-MN ON WIRE

The electrochemical engineering and operation of a pilot plant for the electrodeposition of Zn-Mn alloys is described in this paper. The tim e-averaged current density (hence ed.) distribution on the wire and th e time evolution of the bath composition are modelled and compared wit h experiment Electrodeposition experiments were performed at different cds on several hundred meters of steel wire; the composition of the c oatings as a function of ed. is predicted with a simple electrochemica l model, also taking into account mass transport at the wire, and comp ared with experiment. Structural and functional properties of the coat ings were studied, some effects of drawing on the coating properties w ere measured The surface morphology of Zn-Mn coatings on steel wires w as studied by SEM, their crystallographic structure was investigated b y XRD and their in-depth composition by AES. Corrosion resistance in n eutral and alkaline solutions and corrosion effects on tensile propert ies of the coated steel wire were measured.