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Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process / SAMUEL MINSHELL

Swansea University Author: SAMUEL MINSHELL

  • E-Thesis – open access under embargo until: 24th March 2026

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.58877

Abstract

Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) is used in various industries to create thin coatings ranging from aluminizing crisp packaging through to thin ZnO films on solar cells and glass windows providing thermochromic control [1]. Vacuum locks are used during manufacturing to transport material into and ou...

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Published: Swansea 2026
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: EngD
Supervisor: Nicholas Lavery ; David Penney
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa58877
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first_indexed 2021-12-02T12:42:52Z
last_indexed 2021-12-03T04:19:48Z
id cronfa58877
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spelling 2021-12-02T17:25:16.1484923 v2 58877 2021-12-02 Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process ce96e431acb6ef110cc9065596382939 SAMUEL MINSHELL SAMUEL MINSHELL true false 2021-12-02 Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) is used in various industries to create thin coatings ranging from aluminizing crisp packaging through to thin ZnO films on solar cells and glass windows providing thermochromic control [1]. Vacuum locks are used during manufacturing to transport material into and out of the coating chamber, sometimes as a continuous process.In 2012, POSCO installed a wide PVD pilot plant [2] and in 2017 Arcelor Mittal opened a €63 million commercial air to air coating line, therefore demonstrating the technology is commercially viable [3]. The advantage of PVD coating over more traditional methods such as a galvanising bath is a greater control on the coating thickness, excellent corrosion resistant properties and uniform coating across the substrate. A review of patents and publications on the state-of-the-art in vacuum lock design for the PVD steel coating technology showed that air bearings had the potential for an improved design with a greater flexibility in dealing with variable strip width and thickness.A new vacuum lock for a continuous steel strip process has been designed and prototyped by using a combination of computational modelling, continuum fluid dynamics and discrete molecular models, validated against benchmarks and experimentation. Using a set pump speed (198 m3/hr) at the outlet, the lock was designed to maintain a pressure drop of -79.3kPa and would form the first of a sequence of vacuum locks ultimately reducing the vacuum level to the pressure of 0.01 Pa required within the PVD chamber.Whilst no single computational model was able to capture the entire flow regime, the continuum models were able to suggest possible pressure drops from changing outlet mass flow rates, which was used to develop the design. By using an air bearing system at the lock entrance with thin slider blocks to adjust the gap, the lock can accommodate a steel strip with a reduced or increased thickness and width. E-Thesis Swansea 24 3 2026 2026-03-24 10.23889/SUthesis.58877 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Nicholas Lavery ; David Penney Doctoral EngD Tata Steel 2021-12-02T17:25:16.1484923 2021-12-02T12:32:37.8517476 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Uncategorised SAMUEL MINSHELL 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2021-12-02T13:06:36.6593347 Output 9466760 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true 2026-03-24T00:00:00.0000000 true eng
title Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process
spellingShingle Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process
SAMUEL MINSHELL
title_short Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process
title_full Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process
title_fullStr Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process
title_full_unstemmed Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process
title_sort Towards state of the art vacuum locks for a novel continuous PVD galvanising process
author_id_str_mv ce96e431acb6ef110cc9065596382939
author_id_fullname_str_mv ce96e431acb6ef110cc9065596382939_***_SAMUEL MINSHELL
author SAMUEL MINSHELL
author2 SAMUEL MINSHELL
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUthesis.58877
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Uncategorised{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Uncategorised
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) is used in various industries to create thin coatings ranging from aluminizing crisp packaging through to thin ZnO films on solar cells and glass windows providing thermochromic control [1]. Vacuum locks are used during manufacturing to transport material into and out of the coating chamber, sometimes as a continuous process.In 2012, POSCO installed a wide PVD pilot plant [2] and in 2017 Arcelor Mittal opened a €63 million commercial air to air coating line, therefore demonstrating the technology is commercially viable [3]. The advantage of PVD coating over more traditional methods such as a galvanising bath is a greater control on the coating thickness, excellent corrosion resistant properties and uniform coating across the substrate. A review of patents and publications on the state-of-the-art in vacuum lock design for the PVD steel coating technology showed that air bearings had the potential for an improved design with a greater flexibility in dealing with variable strip width and thickness.A new vacuum lock for a continuous steel strip process has been designed and prototyped by using a combination of computational modelling, continuum fluid dynamics and discrete molecular models, validated against benchmarks and experimentation. Using a set pump speed (198 m3/hr) at the outlet, the lock was designed to maintain a pressure drop of -79.3kPa and would form the first of a sequence of vacuum locks ultimately reducing the vacuum level to the pressure of 0.01 Pa required within the PVD chamber.Whilst no single computational model was able to capture the entire flow regime, the continuum models were able to suggest possible pressure drops from changing outlet mass flow rates, which was used to develop the design. By using an air bearing system at the lock entrance with thin slider blocks to adjust the gap, the lock can accommodate a steel strip with a reduced or increased thickness and width.
published_date 2026-03-24T04:15:45Z
_version_ 1763754057770467328
score 11.012678

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