Effect of a hard sublayer on contact interaction and wear behavior of electrodeposited gold-based coatings

Abstract

The mechanical properties and wear of electroplated Au–Ni coatings deposited on beryllium bronze substrates with Ni or Ni–B intermediate layers were investigated. It was revealed that the sublayer material has no significant effect on the hardness and the elastic modulus of the coatings. At the same time, the harder sublayer favors localization of plastic deformation and, thus, strain hardening of coatings in the course of tribological tests. The Ni–B sublayer was shown to provide significant wear reduction of Au–Ni coatings as compared with the Ni sublayer.