Investigation on the Constitution and Mechanical Characteristic of Composite Containing Silicon-Carbide Produced by Electroless Co-deposition

The constitution and mechanical characteristics of the composites containing silicon carbide and Ni-P alloy matrix produced by electroless co-deposition were investigated in this article. The experimental results indicate that SiC particles with high hardness obviously strengthen the Ni-P alloy matrix, leading to an increase in both the hardness and surface roughness of the composites in comparison with pure Ni-P alloy. The hardness of the composites reaches the maximum value when heat treated at 673 K for 1 h. During the friction and wear process, the wear resistance of SiC composites is higher than that of Ni-P alloy and hard chromium plating, although the friction coefficient of the composite is comparatively high, which is attributed to the worn-resistant hard phase.