Effect of Electroless Nickel (EN) Coating on Mechanical Properties of Al-6061

Al-6061 and Nickel, individually serve for various requirements of their multitude mechanical characteristics and ideal chemical properties. In present scenario, Al-6061 has captured the attention of both academia and industrialists' interest for its usage in multiple fields such as transportation, construction and similar engineering industries. The primary intention of this research is to investigate the properties of mechanical strength ofAl-6061 subjected to Electroless Nickel (EN) coating. The test specimens are prepared as per ASTM norms, and have been evaluated by the addition of EN coating layers of thicknesses 0µ, 2µ, 4µ, 6µ and 8µ. The EN coated specimens are tested for investigating various mechanical properties. These investigations are performed as per ASTM standards. The results thus obtained reveal that, the properties of mechanical strength, such as elastic strength and UTS increases up to 6µ thickness of EN coated specimen. The characteristics viz. hardness and impact energy absorption of a material increases with higher EN coating layer thickness. It has been observed that there is improvement in the properties of Al6061 coated with EN when compared to the other coated materials as well as non-coated Al-6061. The EN coated Al6061finds its broad applications in the field of structural and defence/aviation sectors.