History of zinc-coated steel

The history of zinc-coated steel has been well documented ever since Luigi Galvani conducted his experiments on frogs’ legs. In this chapter, the evolution of zinc-coated steel is followed through the patent literature, from the early works on electrochemistry by Volta, Davy, and Faraday, through the development of the electrodeposition and hot-dip processing, including the revolutionary patents by Sendzimir. The various alloy coatings such as GI, GALFAN, Galvalume, and the newer Al-Zn-Mg compositions are discussed. Finally, a chronological history of zinc-coated sheet steel development is presented in the Appendix.