Microstructural, Surface Topology and Nanomechanical Characterization of Electrodeposited Ni-P/SiC Nanocomposite Coatings

In the present study, nickel phosphorous alloys (Ni-P) and Ni-P/ silicon carbide (SiC) nanocomposite coatings were deposited by electrodeposition on steel substrates in order for their microstructural properties to be assessed while using SEM, XRD, and three-dimensional (3D) profilometry as well as nanoindentation. The amorphisation of the as-plated coatings was observed in all cases, whereas subsequent heat treatment induced crystallization and Ni3P intermetallic phase precipitation. Examination of the surface topology revealed that the surface roughness follows the deposition characteristics and heat treatment induced microstructural changes. Additionally, substantial improvements in mechanical properties, including hardness, yield stress, and elasticity modulus, were obtained for the Ni-P, Ni-P/SiC nanocomposites when heat treated as seen from the nanoindentation results. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was developed to simulate the nanoindentation tests that enable the precise extraction of the Ni-P and Ni-P/SiC nanocomposite coatings’ stress-strain behavior. It is shown that the correlation between the nanoindentation tests and the computational models was satisfactory, while the stress-strain curves revealed higher yield points for the heat-treated samples.