Wear characterization of electrodeposited Ni–WC composite coatings

The present contribution reports the tribological properties of Ni–WC composite coatings, electrodeposited on steel substrate. Commercial WC particles with an average size of 5 μm were codeposited with Ni on a mild steel substrate using a Watts bath at 50°C. The effect of plating variables on deposition behavior was studied. The amount of WC in the deposited layer decreased and plating efficiency increased with an increase in current density from 0.1 to 0.3 A/cm2. The tribological properties of the coatings were studied using a small amplitude reciprocating friction wear tester. The addition of WC in Ni increases the microhardness of the electrodeposited coatings. An important result is that the presence of embedded WC particles in the electrodeposited coatings results in a much lower coefficient of friction (COF) of 0.34, when compared with pure Ni (COF 0.62) and mild steel (COF 0.54).