July 14, 2006—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a new reference material to aid quality control in the steel coatings industry.
The new Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2426 is a 55% aluminum-zinc alloy certified by NIST not only for the aluminum and zinc content but also for silicon and iron, two important contaminants.
First introduced commercially in the 1970s, 55% Al-Zn is widely used as a tough, corrosion-resistant coating for sheet steel, particular in roofing. The Zinc Aluminum Coaters Association (ZAC) claims the latter as the fastest-growing coated steel product in the world. The alloy is applied to sheet steel using a hot-dip coating process. Huge coils of cold-rolled steel wind through a vat of the molten alloy at speeds up to three meters a second.
More information on SRM 2426 is available from NIST’s Standard Reference Materials office.
