Annealed wire, after galvanizing, is called galvanized wire. Galvanized wire is mainly divided into 3 types:
Electro-galvanized wire, also known as cold-galvanized wire
Hot-dipped galvanized wire
Zinc-aluminum alloy wire, also known as Galfan
Electro-galvanizing, also called cold galvanizing, uses electrolytic equipment to immerse the galvanized wire, after degreasing and pickling, into a solution containing zinc salts. The wire is connected to the negative electrode of the electrolytic equipment, and a zinc plate is placed opposite the wire, connected to the positive electrode of the electrolytic equipment. When the power is turned on, the directional movement of current from the positive to the negative electrode deposits a layer of zinc on the galvanized wire. Electro-galvanizing has a slow production speed, a uniform but thin coating, usually only 3-15 microns thick, a bright appearance, and poor corrosion resistance. The zinc coating amount of ordinary electro-galvanized wire is generally 8-13 grams/square meter.
Hot-dip galvanizing is a method of galvanizing where zinc ingots are melted at high temperature, and then the iron wire is slowly passed through the molten zinc, allowing the zinc to adhere to the surface of the iron wire. The zinc coating amount of hot-dip galvanized wire is 30-60 grams/square meter. Hot-dip galvanizing has a fast production speed, a thick but uneven coating, with a minimum thickness of 45 microns and a maximum of over 300 microns allowed in the market. It has a darker color, consumes more zinc metal, forms an intermetallic layer with the base metal, and has good corrosion resistance.
Generally, a zinc coating amount higher than 100 grams/square meter is called high-zinc, with a maximum zinc coating amount of up to 300 grams/square meter.
Zinc-aluminum alloy wire is called Galfan abroad. The galvanized layer is high-zinc plus aluminum, with an aluminum content of 5-10% and a zinc content of 90-95%. The meaning of GALFAN is GALVANIZATION FANTASTIQUE, "an extraordinary galvanizing," and its product's corrosion resistance is about 2-3 times that of ordinary galvanizing. Currently, Galfan galvanized wire is mainly used in gabion mesh products.
