Influence of current density on the surface morphology and wear characteristic of electrodeposited nickel- fly ash composite coatings

This paper investigates the surface morphology and wear characteristic of fly ash particle reinforced nickel matrix composite coatings. The nickel fly ash (Ni-FA) composite coatings were deposited on zincated aluminium alloy 6061 (AA6061) substrate by using electrodeposition technique. The deposition of Ni-FA composite coating on zincated substrates were performed by applying various current density at 1, 5 and 9 A/dm2. The produced composite coatings were characterized and tested using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and wear test. As the current density increased from 1 to 5 and 9 A/dm2, the surface morphology of the coatings become larger and denser. The high current density also leads to significant increase in the wear track width.