10/07/2024
We often get questions about how it works to combine hot-dip galvanized steel with stainless steel, and how big the risk of galvanic corrosion is. Zinc is a metal with low nobility that becomes anode in contact with most other metals. But if the environment is relatively dry, i.e. if the surfaces can easily dry up between the wet periods, it can still work well. The size ratio between anode and cathode is also important, and here we have a large anode in the form of a hot-dip galvanized surface and a hot-dip galvanized mesh, in contact with a stainless wire, which forms the cathode. This protective fence stands near Värtahamnen in Stockholm, i.e. near a marine environment with brackish water, and is exposed to wind and rain. That the installation has a couple of years behind it is evident from the presence of so-called ”zinc roses” on the hot-dip galvanized pole. This pattern in the zinc layer is created because the zinc contains low levels of lead, something that we have not used when galvanizing in the Nordic countries since the late 90s.
