PROPERTIES OF ALUMINIUM/ELECTROLESS Ni-COATED SiC COMPOSITES - A REVIEW

  • H. Odiwo
  • K. A. Bello
  • M. Abdulwahab
  • A. A. Adebisi
  • M. A. Maleque
Keywords: Aluminium, silicon carbide, electroless nickel, coating, composites

Abstract

The combination of properties of Al/SiC composites make them very attractive materials for applications in automotive and aerospace industries. Several techniques are used in developing Al/SiC composites but stir casting process is most commonly used because it is the simplest and cost effective technique. However, composites produced via stir casting suffer from limitations such as low wettability and inadequate bonding between the molten Al & SiC particulates and the formation of degrading interfacial products like aluminum carbide (Al4C3) which degrades the mechanical properties of the composite. Some of the techniques to improve Al-SiC wettability include addition of surface active elements such as magnesium, heat treatment of particles and application of metallic coating on the reinforcements before addition to the melt. Wetting agents alter the composition of the matrix alloy, while heat treatment of the reinforcement does not completely prevent the formation of Al4C3 when utilized. To reduce the direct interaction and promote wetting between reinforcements and molten aluminum during processing, the surface of SiC particulates can be modified by coating via oxidation, sol-gel and electroless processes. Of all these methods, electroless nickel deposition produces the best coatings with uniform thickness and adequate strength. In the present study, influence of electroless nickel-coating of SiC on the mechanical, corrosion and microstructural properties of Al/SiC composite has been evaluated. Finally, it can be concluded that the Ni and Ni3P intermetallic phases produced via electroless coating improves the wettability between the SiC and molten aluminium leading to enhanced properties of the composite.

References

Adebisi A. A., Maleque M. A., Ali M. Y. & Bello K. A. (2016). Effect of variable particle size reinforcement on mechanical and wear properties of 6061Al–SiCp composite. Composite Interfaces, 23:6, 533-547, DOI:10.1080/09276440.2016.1167414

Abdulwahab, M., Popoola, A.P.I., Oladijo, O.E., Loto, C.O. & Oladijo, O.P. (2016). Corrosion Resistance of AA2036 and AA7075-T651 in Contaminated Acid Chloride Environment. Asian Journal of Chemistry vol. 27, No. 7 (2016).

Agarwala, R.C. & Agarwala, V. (2003). Electroless Alloy / Composite Coatings: A Review. Sadhana Vol. 28, part 3 & 4, 475 – 493.

Alten, A., Erzi, E., Gürsoy, Ö., Ağaoğlu, G.H., Dispinar, D. & Orhan, G. (2019). Production and mechanical characterization of Ni-coated carbon fibers reinforced Al-6063 alloy matrix composites, Journal of Alloys and Compounds (2019).

Bello, K.A., Maleque, M.A. and Ahmad, Z. (2015). Synthesis and Characterization of Ni–P Coated Hexagonal Boron Nitride by Electroless Nickel Deposition. Surface Engineering and Applied Electrochemistry, 2015, Vol. 51, No. 6, pp. 523–529.

Bello K. A., Maleque M. A., Ahmad Z. and Mirdha S. (2015). Synthesis of Co-deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride for Thermally-Efficient Tribological Performance. Advanced Materials Research Vol. 1115 (2015), pp 166-169.

Bestetti M. and Da Forno A. (2013). Electroless and Electrochemical Deposition of Metallic Coatings on Magnesium Alloys - Critical Literature Review.

Bewilogua K., Brauer G., Dietz A., Gabler J., Goch G., Karpuschewski B. and Szyszka B. (2009). Surface technology for automotive engineering. CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology Vol. 58 (2009), page 608–627.

Bharath, V., Nagaral, M., Aurade, V., Kori, S.A. (2014). Preparation of 6061Al-Al2O3 MMCs by Stir Casting and Evaluation of Mechanical and Wear Properties. Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014), 1658 – 1667.

Chen Y., Cao M., Xu Q. and Zhu J. (2003). Electroless nickel plating on silicon carbide nanoparticles. Surface and Coatings Technology 172 (2003), 90–94.

Davidson, A.M. & Regener, D. (2000). A Comparison of Aluminium Based MMC Reinforced with Coated and Uncoated Particle SiC. Composite Science Technology 60 (2000), 865 – 869.

DiBari, G. & Stapleton, P. (1998). Tool and Manufacturing Engineers Handbook; Chapter 21. Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

DiGiampolo, A.R., Ordonez, J.G., Gugliemacci, J.M. & Lira, J. (1997). Electroless Nickel – Boron Coatings on Metal Carbides. Surface and Coating Technology 89 (1997), 127 – 131.

Dikici, B., Tekmen, C., Gavgali, M. & Cocen, U. (2011). The Effect of Electroless Ni Coating of SiC Particles on the Corrosion Behavior of A356 Based Squeeze Cast Composite. Strojniäki vestnik - Joumal of Mechanical Engineering 57 (2011)1, 11-20.

Evans, A., San Marchi, C., & Mortensen, A. (2013). Metal matrix composites in industry: an introduction and survey. New York: Springer Science & Business.

Faraji S. & Ani F. N. (2016). The development super capacitor from activated carbon by electroless plating — A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 42 (2015), 823–834.

Farayibi P. K., Akinnuli B. O. and Ogu S. (2018). Mechanical Properties of Aluminum–4043/Nickel-coated Silicon Carbide Composites Produced via Stir Casting. International Journal of Engineering Technologies-Ijet, Vol.4, No.1, 2018.

Hashim, J., Looney, L., Hashmi, M.S.J. (2001). The Enhancement of Wettability of SiC in Cast Aluminium Matrix Composites. Journal of Material Technology 119 (2001), 329 – 335.

He P., Huang S., Wang H., Huang Z., Hu J., Cheng X. and Pan C. (2014). Electroless nickel–phosphorus plating on silicon carbide particles for metal matrix composites. Ceramics International 40 (2014), 16653– 16664.

Kang M., Kim J. M., Kima J. W., Kim Y. K., Chung H. and Yie J. E. (2002). Simple and fast microwaveenhanced wet etching of SiC particles for electroless Ni-P plating. Surface and Coatings Technology 161 (2002), 79–85.

Khosroshahi N.B., Khosroshahi R. A., Mousavian R. T. and Brabazon D. (2014). Effect of electroless coating parameters and ceramic particle size on fabrication of a uniform Ni–P coating on SiC particles. Ceramics International 40 (2014), 12149–12159.

Kretz, F., Gacsi, Z., Kovacs, J. & Pieczonka, T. (2004). The Electroless Deposition of Nickel on SiC Particles for Aluminium Matrix Composites. Surface and Coatings Technology 180 – 181 (2004), 575 – 579.

Kumar, G.S.P., Keshavamurthy, R., Kumari, P. & Dubey, C. (2016). Corrosion Behaviour of TiB2 Reinforced Aluminium based In-situ Metal Matrix Composites. Perspectives in Science (2016).

Kundu S., Das S. K. & Sahoo P. (2014). Properties of electroless nickel at elevated temperature-a review. Procedia Engineering 97 (2014), 1698 – 1706.

Leon, C.A. & Drew, R.A.L. (2000). Preparation of Nickel Coated Powders as Precursors to Reinforce MMCs. Journal of Materials Science 35 (2000), 4763 – 4768.

Moses, J. J., Dinaharan, I., Sekhar, S. J. (2016). Prediction of influence of process parameters on tensile strength of AA6061/TiC aluminum matrix composites produced using stir casting. Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China 26(2016) 1498−1511.

Nobari N., Behboudnia M. & Maleki R. (2016). Palladium-free electroless deposition of pure copper film on glass substrate using hydrazine as reducing agent. Applied Surface Science 385 (2016), 9–17.

Nagaral, M., Auradi, V., Parashivamurthy, K.I. and Kori, S.A. (2016). A Comparative Study on Wear Behavior of Al6061-6% SiC and Al6061-6% Graphite Composites. Journal of Applied Mechanical Engineering 2016, 5:6.

Pázmán J., Mádai V., Tóth J. & Gácsi Z. (2010). Investigation of the Electroless Nickel Plated SiC Particles in Metal Matrix Composites. Powder Metallurgy Progress, Vol.10 (2010), No 2.

Ramesh, C.S., Keshavamurthy, R., Channabasappa, B.H. & Pramod, S. (2010). Friction and Wear Behavior of Ni-P coated Si3N4 reinforced Al6061 composites. Tribology International 43 (2010), 623 – 634.

Ramesh, C. S., Saleem, K., Vishnu, K.R., Chethan, H.C & Dattatri, S. Corrosion Behaviour of Aluminium 6061-Silicon Nitride- Carbon Fiber Hybrid composite.

Rao R. N. & Das S. (2011). Effect of SiC content and sliding speed on the wear behaviour of aluminium matrix composites. Materials and Design 32 (2011), 1066–1071.

Sahoo, P. & Das, S.K. (2011). Tribology of Electroless Nickel Coatings – A Review. Materials and Design 32 (2011), 1760 – 1775.

Sahoo, B.P. & Das, D. (2019). Critical review on liquid state processing of aluminium based metal matrix nano-composites. Materials Today: Proceedings (2019).

Sateesh N. H., Kumar G. C. M. and Krishna P. (2015). Influence of Ni-P Coated SiC and Laser Scan Speed on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of IN625 Metal Matrix Composites. Lasers Manuf. Mater. Process. (2015) 2:187–198.

Sudagar, J., Lian, J. & Shan, W. (2013). Electroless Nickel, Alloy, Composite and Nanocoatings – A Critical Review. Journal of Alloys and Compounds 571(2013), 183 – 204.

Umasankar V., Karthikeyan S. and Xavior M. A. (2014). The influence of electroless nickel coated SiC on the interface strength and microhardness of Aluminium composites. J. Mater. Environ. Sci. 5 (1) (2014), 153-158.

Xie, J.F, Liu, T.S, Li, Q., Li, Q.Y., Xu, Z.H., Qiu, F., Tang, J., Yang, H.Y. & Jiang, Q.C. (2019). Nanoparticulate dispersion, microstructure refinement and strengthening mechanisms in Ni-coated SiCp/Al-Cu nanocomposites. Materials Science & Engineering A 762 (2019), 138092.

Zakaulla, M., Khan, A.R.A & Mukunda, P.G. (2014). Effect of Electroless Copper Coating on the Corrosion Behavior of Aluminium Based Metal Matrix Composites Reinforced with Silicon Carbide Particles. Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, (2014), 2, 21-25.

Zhan, Y. & Zhang, G. (2003). The effect of interfacial modifying on the mechanical and wear properties of SiCp/Cu composites. Materials Letters 57 (2003), 4583– 4591.

Zou G., Cao M., Lin H., Jin H., Kang Y. and Chen Y. (2006). Nickel layer deposition on SiC nanoparticles by simple electroless plating and its dielectric behaviors. Powder Technology 168 (2006), 84–88.

Published
2021-06-28
How to Cite
OdiwoH., BelloK. A., AbdulwahabM., AdebisiA. A., & MalequeM. A. (2021). PROPERTIES OF ALUMINIUM/ELECTROLESS Ni-COATED SiC COMPOSITES - A REVIEW . FUDMA JOURNAL OF SCIENCES, 5(1), 381 - 391. https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2021-0501-582