Tribological and Corrosion Properties of Nickel Coatings on Carbon Steel

Wear and corrosion are the main problems in mechanical elements in mechanical contact, and as a consequence there are economical losses. To enhance the tribological properties of the metallic materials, nickel coating has found a wide application in aerospace, automobile, chemical industries, and other. In this research, nickel coatings on carbon steel substrate were developed using nickel sulfamate bath and Watts nickel bath to obtain homogeneous electrodeposits, good adherence and nonporous material. The thickness of the nickel coatings obtained was 35.75 mu m using the Watts nickel bath and 26.88 mu m with the nickel sulfamate bath. In order to analyze the influence of the nickel coating, an experimental investigation of the sliding wear and corrosion properties of the coated specimens was carried out. The hardness of the nickel sulfamate bath coated surfaces was approximately 2.7 times higher than the surfaces without coating. The results suggest that the coated surfaces presented better properties including high hardness, good wear resistance, and good corrosion resistance.