This study deals with monitoring of Zn layer heterogeneity on the flange of steel road barriers using magnetic measurements. The Barkhausen noise technique is employed for such purpose, and parameters extracted from Barkhausen noise signals are correlated with the true thickness of the Zn layer. The true values of the Zn layer were obtained from the metallographic images, as well as the thickness gauge CM-8825FN (Guangzhou Landtek Instruments Co. Ltd., Guangzhou, China) device. It was observed that the diffusion region lies below the Zn protective layer, which makes the thickness of the Zn layer obtained from the CM-8825FN device thicker than that measured on the metallographic images. For this reason, the chemical gradient of Zn below the Zn layer can be reported, and it affects Barkhausen noise emission. Barkhausen noise decreases along with increasing thickness of the Zn layer, and Barkhausen noise envelopes are shifted to stronger magnetic fields. The number of strong MBN pulses drops down with the increasing thickness of Zn coating at the expense of the increasing number of the weak MBN pulses. The thickness of Zn coating can be polluted by the solidification of Zn melt after galvanizing. The presence of the diffusion layer dims the contrast between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases.
Keywords: Barkhausen noise; Zn layer; steel barrier.