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 containin g silicon carbide and Ni-P alloy matrix produced by electroless co-depositi on were investigated in this article. The experimental results indicate tha t SiC particles with high hardness obviously strengthen the Ni-P alloy matr ix, leading to an increase in both the hardness and surface roughness of th e composites in comparison with pure Ni-P alloy. The hardness of the compos ites reaches the maximum value when heat treated at 673 K for 1 h. During t he friction and wear process, the wear resistance of SiC composites is high er 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.