Parametric investigation of electropolishing to enhance the surface characteristics of maraging steel with organic electrolytes

Maraging steel 300 is widely used in aircraft, tools, and automotive industries, which requires a polished surface for better performance. In conventional methods of polishing, the abrasives directly contact the workpiece surface and deteriorate its property. Thus, a nonconventional method like electropolishing (EP), is utilized to finish maraging steel with acetic acid and perchloric acid mixed in the volume of 3:1. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) is performed to determine the passive region that gives the best electropolishing performance. Different parameters, namely temperature, agitation, and polishing time and their effect on surface roughness and surface reflectance, are observed during EP. The optimized process parameters, which give the best EP performance, are the temperature at 60 degrees C, rotation of magnetic stirrer at 400 rpm, and polishing time of 6 min. An improvement of 56.25% in surface roughness and 60.3% in surface reflectance from its initial value of 21% is observed. EP makes the surface hydrophilic as the contact angle changes from 111.2 to 68.6 degrees. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis suggests that after EP, thick passive layer forms on the surface, which helps in increasing corrosion resistance.

Automated summary

Maraging steel 300 is widely used in aerospace, tools, and automotive industries, requiring a polished surface. Conventional polishing methods can deteriorate the material's properties, thus electropolishing is utilized. By adjusting parameters such as temperature, agitation, and polishing time, the best electropolishing performance can be achieved.