ZAM Steel for Solar Panel Mount Brackets

Solar panel mount bracket is designed for placing, installing, and fixing solar panels, which is the skeleton of the photovoltaic power system (PV system). Its performance directly affects the stability, efficiency, and investment income of PV systems. At present, the commonly used materials for PV support include aluminum alloy, galvanized steel, stainless steel, and ZAM steel.

Requirements for Solar Panel Mount Brackets

PV systems are required to operate stably in harsh environments for more than 25 years. So the solar mount brackets need to have excellent corrosion resistance and weather resistance to meet harsh environments such as sandstorms, rain, snow, and earthquakes.

Aluminum alloy brackets are generally used in the roof solar systems of civil buildings. It has excellent corrosion resistance, and it is lightweight, beautiful, and durable. But their self-supporting capacity is low. In addition, its price is higher than that of galvanized steel.

Hot-dipped galvanized steel has excellent anti-corrosion performance and beautiful appearance. Besides, it has high bearing capacity and easy installation. However, the material needs to be slit or punched during installation. But the cutting edge or punching is easily corroded. Therefore, galvanized brackets are galvanized after being processed. But it will increase transportation and storage costs.

Why Use ZAM Steel for Solar Panel Mount Brackets?

Zinc-aluminum-magnesium coated steel is covered with ZAM coating, which consists of zinc (Zn), aluminum (Al),  magnesium (Mg) and a trace amount of silicon.  It has superior corrosion resistance and excellent cut-edge protection performance. Al and Mg content will improve its corrosion resistance by several to ten times. And adding Mg and silicon offers a self-healing function and improves the cut-edge corrosion resistance.

Advantages of ZAM Steel

(1) Superior Corrosion Resistance

The magnesium (Mg) component in the coating is conducive to forming a stable and dense protective film on the surface of the coating. The corrosion resistance of ZAM steel is 5-10 times that of galvanized products.

(2) Excellent Cut-edge Protection Performance

The cut edge is prone to red rust when it is exposed to the air. However, the ZAM coating is oxidized at the cut edges or scratches and it will form water-soluble ions, which will wrap the red rust and then form a protective film on the cut edge. Due to the super corrosion resistance and the self-healing effect, the service life of ZAM steel is very long.

(3) Easy to Process

Compared with the galvanized sheet, ZAM steel sheet has a denser coating, so it has excellent performance during drawing, stamping, bending, and welding. Besides, it has good resistance to damage due to the high hardness of the coating. Therefore, ZAM steel can be cut, punched, and cold-formed directly, which can save time and labor costs.

Galvanized VS ZAM Steel

There are some advantages to using ZAM steel for solar panel mount brackets.

(1) Reduce cost: As mentioned, ZAM steel for PV support can save the cost of transportation, storage, and other links. It is also able to reduce pollutant emissions.

(2) Better corrosion resistance: The salt spray test shows that the corrosion resistance of zinc-aluminum-magnesium coatings is significantly better than that of hot-dip pure zinc coatings.

(3) Increased warranty period:  ZAM products can provide a warranty of more than 30 years, which meets the requirements of PV systems (25 years).

Conclusion

ZAM steel is widely used in photovoltaic systems. It can be directly processed and used, shortening the processing period, so that the project construction period can be well controlled. In addition, it has excellent corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and good welding processability. Therefore, ZAM steel is also widely used in construction, automobile manufacturing, animal husbandry, airports or high-speed rail construction, etc. Wanzhi Steel has a ZAM production line, two galvanizing lines, and a galvalume production line to better meet your needs. Welcome to contact us for more details!