Design Basic
The successful hot dip galvanizing of fabricated steelwork is heavily dependent on its design. To be satisfactorily galvanized, the fabrication must be immersed in a series of pre-treatment baths to prepare the surface for galvanizing, and then be submerged in a bath of molten zinc. If the pre-treatment chemicals and the molten zinc cannot get access to all surfaces, the item will not be effectively coated. Fabrication techniques can also either create or alleviate problems in the galvanizing process.
SGSI technical staff are available to advise on design, and will assist with design detailing prior to fabrication to ensure that a high quality hot-dip galvanized coating is applied to customers’ projects.
IMPORTANT FABRICATION FACTORS
For standard fabrications, a basic set of design rules should be applied. These design steps do not add to the fabrication cost but will ensure a good quality outcome. These are: | ||
• | Gussets and stiffeners should be cropped. | |
• | End plates or base plates on columns: | |
• | Universal sections should have vent/drain holes in the corners of the web/flange connection. | |
• | Hollow sections should have vent/drain holes in the internal extremities | |
• | Outward facing channels and angles in fabricated frames eliminate the need for vent and drain holes, contrary to inward facing sections. | |
• | Terminating bracing short of adjacent flanges eliminates the need for cropping or vent holes. | |