Effect of Preheat Treatment on Wear and Corrosion Rates of Copper Electrodeposition on Medium-Carbon Steel

The work investigated the effects of pre-surface treatment on wear and corrosion rates of copper electrodeposition on medium-carbon steel. Medium-carbon steel samples were subjected to heat treatment (annealing, normalizing and quenching) in a muffle furnace. The samples were prepared and subjected to nickel striking and copper electroplating using standard bath composition. Electroplated samples were taken for weight test, optical microscopy, wear test and corrosion test. Result showed that the heat-treated copper-electrodeposited substrate had homogenous distribution of fine copper deposition, while the tempered heat-treated substrate was observed with the lowest wear rate of 3.5 x 10(-3) g/mm(3)/min and lowest corrosion rate of 0.01833 mmpy in seawater environment of 0.5 M NaCl, thus having a low resistance to wear and corrosion in saline environment. This research has established that un-electroplated medium-carbon steel is highly corrosive in saline environment due to its higher corrosion penetration rates, while the tempered heat-treated copper-electrodeposited steels are lowly corrosion resistant and therefore suitable for use as a good material of choice in saline environments.