Experimental Investigation on Electro-codeposition Nickel-Weld Slag Composite Coating

Electro-codeposition process is considered to be an advanced technique for development of composite coatings. In this study, Ni-weld slag composite coatings are prepared from nickel Watts bath using electrodeposition process. It is a novel approach under the utilization of weld slag particles for the preparation of composite coatings which are composed of ceramic patterns. The weld slag particles are embedded in nickel matrix using electrodeposition by adjusting the process parametic conditions. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array is chosen for experimental design by considering the three primary plating parameters, namely current density, temperature of bath and particle concentrations with three levels of each. In order to confirm the deposition, the deposited coatings are examined using optical microscope, SEM micrographs and EDX investigations. The Microhardness of deposits is evaluated using Vickers microhardness tester with the applied testing load of 100-gram force. The direct effects and significances of plating parameters on the microhardness have been explored using the signal to noise ratio, mean effect studies and analysis of variance. The process parameters are ranked by position through the significance studies. The Ni-weld slag particles produces greater microhardness values than pure nickel coating.