ZINC-NICKEL ALLOY PLATING: AN ALTERNATIVE TO CADMIUM.

Increasingly stringent environment regulations have encouraged the development of cadmium alternatives. Zinc-nickel alloy coatings applied by a new electroplating process were better than cadmium and cadmium-titanium coatings with regard to corrosion protection characteristics during salt-spray tests, equal to cadmium in torque-tension tests, and had satisfactory low-hydrogen-embrittlement characteristics when plated on notched tensile specimens. The zinc-nickel alloy is considered a viable alternative to cadmium for plating aircraft and commercial steel parts.