High-temperature tribological properties of Ni-P alloy coatings deposited by electro-brush plating

High-temperature tribological properties of Ni-P alloy coatings processed by electro-brush plating on 20CrMo steel have been investigated. A baU-on-disc configuration was employed and 4 mm diameter Si3N4 balls were used as static counterpart. All the wear tests were carried out at 450℃ for 180 rain without lubricants. The electro-brush plating Ni-P coating is amorphous in as-deposited condition, and it becomes polycrystalline with the formation of Ni and Ni3P after heat treatment at 450℃for 1 h. The friction coefficient of the Ni-P coating is just 50% of that of the 20CrMo steel at the friction temperature of 450℃. A mild adhesive wear mechanism was found for the electro-brush plating Ni-P coating tested at 450℃, whereas for the 20CrMo steel at the same temperature a mixed adhesive and abrasive wear mechanism was observed.

Electroless Ni-P plating on Mg-Li alloy by two-step method

Pretreated Mg-Li alloy sheets were pre-plated in a NiCO3？2Ni（OH）2？4H2O solution to form a thin Ni-P alloy film and then plating in a NiSO4？6H2O solution was carried out to obtain a protective coating.The surface morphology,structure and corrosion resistance of the coating were studied.The results showed that a flat,bright and compact plating layer,which was integrated into the matrix metal,was obtained.The P content of the Ni-P coating reached 13.56%（mass fraction）.The hardness value of the Ni-P coating was about HV 549.The polarization curve showed that the corrosion potential of the Ni-P coating reached ？0.249 V（vs SCE）.A long passivation region was found on the polarization curve,and this phenomenon indicated that the coating has an excellent anti-corrosion property.

Electroless plating and growth kinetics of Ni-P alloy film on SiC_p/Al composite with high SiC volume fraction

After Sn/Pd activating, the SiCp/Al composite with 65% SiC (volume fraction) was coated by electroless Ni?P alloy plating. Surface morphology of the composite and its effect on the Ni?P alloy depositing process and bonding action of Ni and P atoms in the Ni?P alloy were studied. The results show that inhomogeneous distribution of the Sn/Pd activating points results in preferential deposition of the Ni?P alloy particles on the Al alloy and rough SiC particle surfaces and in the etched caves. The Ni?P alloy film has an amorphous structure where chemical bonding between Ni and P atoms exists. After a continuous Ni?P alloy film formed, electroless Ni?P alloy plating is not affected by surface morphology and characteristics of the SiCp/Al composite any longer, but by the electroless plating process itself. The Ni?P alloy film follows linear growth kinetics with an activation energy of 68.44 kJ/mol.

Study of Electroless Ni-P-CNTs Composite Plating

The electroless Ni-P-carbon nanotubes composite plating was studied on the copper substrate. Metallurgical microscope, scanning electronic microscope, X-ray diffractometer and micro hardness tester were used to study the structure, constitution and performance of the electroless Ni-P-carbon nanotubes composite deposit. Experiential results show that, with the increment of carbon nanotubes content in electroless plating solution, the grain size on the sample surface decreases whereas the density of grains and the hardness for composite deposit increases. Moreover, adding carbon nanotubes not only improves the degree of crystallization for the composite deposit but also helps their transformation from the amorphous state to the nanocrystal state.

Pretreatment-free Ni-P plating on magnesium alloy at low temperatures

Electrochemically promoted electroless plating(EPEP)was used for the application of pretreatment-free Ni-P coating on AM60B magnesium alloy at low temperatures and the obtained coating was characterized by SEM,AFM,EDS and XRD techniques.Compact,uniform,and medium-phosphorus Ni-P coating with mixed crystalline-amorphous microstructure was obtained by applying a cathodic current density of4mA/cm^2at50℃.Also,island-like nickel clusters were deposited on the alloy surface under the same plating condition but without applying the cathodic current.In addition,the durability of the magnesium alloy against corrosion was strongly improved after plating via EPEP technique which was revealed by electrochemical examinations in3.5%NaCl(mass fraction)corrosive electrolyte.The results of the electrochemical examinations were confirmed by microscopic observations.Thickness,microhardness,porosity and adhesive strength of the deposits were also qualified.

Friction and Wear Characteristics of Brush Plating Ni/nano-Al2O3 Composite Coating under Sand-Containing Oil

Ni-matrix composite coating containing AI2O3 nano-particles is prepared by brush plating. The effects of the nano-particles on the microstructure, microhardness and tribological properties of the composite coating under the lubrication of a diesel oil containing sand are investigated. The results show that the microstructure of the composite coating is finer than that of the pure nickel coating due to the codeposition of the nano-particles. When the nano-particle concentration in the electroplating bath reaches 20 g/L, the microhardness, and wear resistance of the composite coating is as much as 1.6 times and 1.3-2.5 times of those of the pure nickel coating respectively. The main hardening mechanism of the composite coating is superfine crystal grain strengthening and dispersion strengthening. The composite coating is characterized by scuffing as it slides against Si3N4 under the present test conditions.

Composition and corrosion resistance of palladium film on 316L stainless steel by brush plating

Palladium films with good adhesive strength were deposited on 316L stainless steel by brush plating. Scanning electronic microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, mass loss tests and electrochemical methods were used to study the properties of the films. The brush plated palladium film mainly consisted of palladium. XPS analysis indicated that palladium was present in the films as metal state. The palladium plated stainless steel samples showed excellent corrosion resistance in boiling 20% H2SO4 solution and boiling acetic/formic acids with 0.005 mol/L Br- ions added. The corrosion rates of the palladium plated 316L stainless steel samples were about two orders of magnitude lower than those of the original 316L stainless steel samples. This method provides a possibility to prepare protective palladium films on stainless steel facilities with large areas in industrial sites.

Low temperature bonding of LD31 aluminum alloys by electric brush plating Ni and Cu coatings

Soldering of LD31 aluminum alloys using Sn-Pb solder paste after electric brush plating Ni and Cu coatings was investigated. The technology of electric brush plating Ni and Cu was studied and plating solution was developed. The microstructure of the coatings, soldered joint and fracture face were analyzed using optic microscopy, SEM and EDX. The shear strength of soldered joint could reach as high as 26.83MPa. The results showed that reliable soldered joint could be obtained at 230℃, the adhesion of coatings and LD31 aluminum alloy substrate was high enough to bear the thermal process in the soldering.

Microstructure and Contact Fatigue Behavior of Nano-SiO_2/Ni Coating Prepared by Electro-Brush Plating

The composite coating nano SiO 2/Ni was prepared by co depositing nano SiO 2 particles with pure nickel through electro brush plating. By taking into account the effect of microstructure, heat treatment and load on the contact fatigue life, the anti contact fatigue behavior of the composite coating was examined and compared with that of nickel coating. As a result, the contact fatigue life decreased with the increasing of load. The contact fatigue lives of nano SiO 2/Ni coating were 16.5% and 45.2% higher than those of nickel coating respectively under the loads of 60 N and 140 N, and 326.3% higher than its counterpart of nickel coating after annealed under the load of 140 N. From the SEM image of fatigue fracture, it has been observed that the fatigue fracture of the composite coating initiated in the sub surface as well as at the track surface due to the huddling of units, and propagated along the interface between grain units.

Properties and strengthening mechanism of brush plated nanoparticle reinforced composite coatings

Nanoparticle reinforced nickel matrix composite coatings, such as n-Al2O3/Ni, n-SiO2/Ni, n-SiC/Ni and n-TiO2/Ni, were fabricated by brush plating technique. Hardness, wear resistance and contact-fatigue resistance of the composite coatings were determined, and strengthening mechanism of the composite coatings was discussed. Results show that the composite coatings have superior properties to the Ni metal coating. Compared with properties of brush plated Ni metal coating, the composite coatings have hardness over 1.5 times and wear resistance capability of about 2.5 times. The strengthening mechanism of the composite coatings mainly includes fine-crystal grain effect, nanoparticle dispersion effect and dislocation effect.

Evaluation of residual stress and corrosion behaviour of electroless plated Ni-P/Ni-Mo-P coatings

Single Ni-P and Ni-Mo-P coatings as well as duplex Ni-P/Ni-Mo-P coatings with the same compositions were prepared by electroless plating.The residual stresses of the coatings on the surface and cross sections were measured by nanoindentation and AFM analysis,and the corrosion behaviour of the coatings in10%HCl solution was evaluated by electrochemical methods,to establish the correlation between the residual stresses and corrosion behaviour of the coatings.The results showed that the single Ni-P and duplex Ni-P/Ni-Mo-P coatings presented residual compressive stresses of241and206MPa respectively,while the single Ni-Mo-P coating exhibited a residual tensile stress of257MPa.The residual compressive stress impeded the growth of the pre-existing porosity in the coatings,protecting the integrity of the coating.The duplex Ni-P/Ni-Mo-P coatings had better corrosion resistance than their respective single coating.In addition,the stress states affect the corrosive form of coatings.

Wear and Corrosion Resistance of Electroless Plating Ni-P Coating on P110 Steel

In order to improve the surface performance and increase the lifetime of P 110 oil casing tube steel during operation, electroless plating was conducted to form Ni-P coating onto its surface. The surface morphology/element distribution and phase constitution of the Ni-P coating were analyzed using scanning electron microscope （SEM） equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry （EDS） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. Tribological and electrochemical measurement tests were applied to investigate the wear and corrosion resistance of P110 steel and the Ni-P coating. The results showed that a uniform and compact, high phosphorous Ni-P coating was formed. The obtained Ni-P coating indicated certain friction-reduction effect and lower mass loss during friction-wear tests. The Ni-P coating also exhibited higher corrosion resistance in comparison with bared P 110 steel. The obtained N i-P coating has significantly improved the surface performance of P110 steel.

Virtual instrument for monitoring process of brush plating

A virtual instrument(Ⅵ) was developed to monitor the technological parameters in the process of brush plating, including coating thickness, brush-plating current, current density, deposition rate, and brush plating voltage. Meanwhile two approaches were presented to improve the measurement accuracy of coating thickness. One of them aims at eliminating the random interferences by moving average filtering; while the other manages to calculate the quantity of electricity consumed accurately with rectangular integration. With these two approaches, the coating thickness can be measured in real time with higher accuracy than the voltage-frequency conversion method. During the process of plating all the technological parameters are displayed visually on the front panel of the Ⅵ. Once brush current or current density overruns the limited values, or when the coating thickness reaches the objective value, the virtual will alarm. With this Ⅵ, the solution consumption can be decreased and the operating efficiency is improved.

Electrochemical behavior of Cu-Zn-Al shape memory alloy after surface modification by electroless plated Ni-P

The electrochemical behavior of Cu-Zn-Al shape memory alloy (SMA) with andwithout electroless plated Ni-P was investigated by electrochemical methods, in artificial Tyrode'ssolution. The results showed that Cu-Zn-Al SMA engendered dezincification corrosion in Tyrode'ssolution. The anodic active current densities as well as electrochemical dissolution sensitivity ofthe electroless plated Ni-P Cu-Zn-Al SMA increased with NaCl concentration rising, pH of solutiondecreasing and environmental temperature uprising. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that aftersurface modification by electroless plated Ni-P, an amorphous plated film formed on the surface ofCu-Zn-Al SMA. This film can effectively isolate matrix metal from corrosion media and significantlyimprove the electrochemical property of Cu-Zn-Al SMA in artificial Tyrode's solution.

Investigation on a Non-cyanide Plating Process of Ni-P Coating on Magnesium Alloy AZ91D

In this research we presented a non-cyanide plating process of Ni-P alloy coating on Mg alloy AZ91D. By applying a new process flow of electroless nickel plating in which zinc coating is used as transition of Ni-P coating on Mg alloy AZ91D, the process of copper transition coating plated in the cyanides bath can be replaced. A new bath composed of NiSO4 was established by orthogonal test. The results show that zinc transition coating can increase the adhesion and protect the Mg alloy substrate from the bath corrosion. The optimal plating bath composition is NiSO4·6H2O 20 g/L, NaH2PO2·H2O20g/L and C6H8O7·H2O 2.5 g/L, and optimal bath acidity and optimal plating temperature are pH 4.0 and 95℃, respectively. The present process flow is composed of ultrasonic cleaning→alkaline cleaning→acid pickling→activation→double immersing zinc→electroplating zinc→electroless nickel plating→passivation treatment. The present non-cyanide process of electroless nickel plating is harmless to our surroundings and Ni-P coating on Mg alloy AZ91D produced by present process possesses good adhesion and corrosion resistance.

Morphology and tribological properties of Ni/n-SiO_2 composite coatings by pulse-reverse current brush-plating

Ni/n-SiO2 composite coating was electrodeposited by brush-plating with pulse-reverse current（RC）. The morphology, hardness, and tribological properties of the coating were investigated and compared with those of Ni and composite coatings electrodeposited with direct current（DC）. The results indicate that Ni/n-SiO2 composite coating electrodeposited by RC, because of RC and the nano powders, has denser coating, finer crystal grains, higher hardness（HV650.0, nearly 1.5 times higher than that of Ni coating electrodeposited by DC） and lower friction coefficient（nearly 0.62）, as a result, in the wearing experiment, the Ni/n-SiO2 composite coating electrodeposited by RC has the least worn loss. So this kind of coating has better wear resistance. And RC electro brush-plating can be used as a new technology of brush-plating in the area of wear resistance.

Study on Microstructures and Properties of Electro Brush-plating Composite Coatings

In this paper, composite coatings were prepared using improved electro brush-plating, and the possibility and feasibility of obtaining of composite coatings with various hard dispersion paticles (C^Os. SiC, ZrO, A^Ojetc.) were studied.The microstructure, constitution, microhardness and wear resistance were examined. The results show that.electro brush-plating composite coatings have finner microstructures and higher microhardness and wear-resistance than ordinary electro brush-plating coatings.The research results can be used in repairing and surface strengthening of worn machine parts,and have practical uses.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANISM OF A NEW TYPE OF Ni－Fe－W－P－S WEAR－RESISTANT BRUSH PLATING LAYER

A new type of Ni-Fe-W-P-S wear-resistant brush plating layer isdeveloped, and its microstructure is investigated at different temperatures by usingX-ray diffractometer, transmission electron microscope and surface analytical appa-ratus. The results revealed that the plating layer is composed of amorphous and mi-crocrystalline matrix and intermetallic compounds. Such a microstructure is verybeneficial to improving its wear-resistance.This new type of plating layer can replacethe chromium plating technique which is very poisonous for human health and harm-ful to the agricultural production.

Effect of Rare Earths on the Quality of Brush-plated Coating

The effect of rare earth(RE) additives on the quality of brush plated coating was studied by adding RE into brush plating solution. The results show that RE make the surface smooth and shiny, reduce residual stress within the coating and reinforced bond, and increase the wearability and corrosion resistance.

Effect of Rare Earth Elements on Depositing Rate of Nickel Alloy Brush Plating Coatings

The effect of four kinds of rare earth elements on the depositing rate of Ni-based alloy brush plating coatings was investigated. The results indicate that all of the selected rare earth elements increase the depositing rate of Ni-based alloy coatings, and Sm increases the depositing rate most obviously. There is an optimum amount of rare earth addition in the plating solution. With the change of plating voltage to a certain extent, the results reveal no differences. The mechanism of the increase of the depositing rate was analyzed.