Selection of hot-dip galvanized sheet metal for lighting Ready Board Box in rural Africa

Faced with the harsh environment in African rural areas, which is characterized by sand and dust, strong ultraviolet ray, high temperature and humidity, and frequent rainstorm in rainy season, the shell of lighting ready board is preferentially hot-dip galvanized, which is not recommended. Electroplated zinc coating is thin and has many pores. It is prone to peeling and rusting in outdoor environments with large temperature differences between day and night and salt alkali sand and dust. In the short term, it may cause perforation of the box and grounding failure, posing a safety hazard of electric leakage and poor adaptability.

Hot dip galvanizing is the process of immersing steel plates in molten zinc to form an alloy coating, with a coating thickness of up to 60-100 μ m, much higher than the 5-15 μ m thin layer of electroplated zinc. Its core advantages are suitable for outdoor scenes in Africa. One of them is anti-corrosion and durable, with a dense and void free zinc iron alloy layer that can resist corrosion from rainwater, dust, and soil salinity. It can be used outdoors for 8-10 years without extensive rusting, greatly reducing the cost of replacement and maintenance in remote rural areas; Secondly, it is resistant to high temperatures and ultraviolet rays. The daytime temperature in Africa often exceeds 45 ℃, and the hot-dip galvanized coating does not peel or crack at high temperatures. It is not easily powdering after long-term exposure to sunlight, and the structural strength of the box is stable; It is resistant to bumps and wear, with poor transportation conditions in rural areas and easy impact during handling. The thick zinc layer can cushion the impact and prevent rusting on the bottom.

At the same time, hot-dip galvanizing has stable conductivity, and the grounding of the box is continuous and reliable, meeting the requirements of rural lighting leakage protection. The overall comprehensive cost is lower, and there is no need to frequently go to the countryside for maintenance, which is in line with the weak power operation and maintenance capabilities in rural Africa. It is the optimal anti-corrosion process choice for outdoor lighting ready board shells in the local area.