Evaluation of Wear Properties for Ni–P Electroless Coatings

In this study, the Ni–P electroless single layer and the gradual phosphorus Ni–P coatings were deposited on copper substrates. The cross-section observations and the surface morphology were detected by using scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. The surface morphology was designed by Solid-Work software and the wear behavior of coatings was simulated under real conditions of the wear test by Deform software. The results showed that, the graded Ni–P coatings had a low strain, effective in the wear tracks and the damage during the wear tests were lower than the high phosphorus single layer. The graded Ni–P coatings had high wear resistance and the coating with the sequence of low P/medium P/high P layers from the substrate to the surface had the best wear resistance. By comparing the real situation of the wear and the wear simulation, it was concluded that the surface and wear modeling could be a reliable model.