Wear Resistance of Brush Electroplated Ni-diamond Composite Coating on 9310 Steel Surface

CHEN Chen; LU Zhengwei; CHEN Xinbin; XIN Yitao; HU Guanghui; SHU Chang; HU Yongjun; JIANG Fajian; MO Jiaming; CAO Fuxiang

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.17.008

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Surface Technology ›› 2026, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (17) : 89-99. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.17.008

Friction, Wear and Lubrication

Wear Resistance of Brush Electroplated Ni-diamond Composite Coating on 9310 Steel Surface

CHEN Chen¹, LU Zhengwei², CHEN Xinbin¹, XIN Yitao¹, HU Guanghui¹, SHU Chang¹, HU Yongjun^1,3,*, JIANG Fajian³, MO Jiaming⁴, CAO Fuxiang⁴

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Abstract

9310 steel is extensively used in manufacturing critical moving components, such as aero-engine and heavy-duty vehicle parts, which often operate under high loads. Even after surface hardening treatments like carburizing, these components still face significant risks of wear failures. As a rapid remanufacturing technology for steel parts, brush electroplating offers advantages including portability, process flexibility, and the capability for on-site localized repair and strengthening of large or precision components. Therefore, to enhance the wear resistance of 9310 steel moving parts under high loads, this study employed brush electroplating technology to fabricate an Ni-diamond composite coating on a 9310 steel substrate and investigated its friction and wear mechanisms under both high and low loads. The composite coating was deposited over three plating cycles with a graphite anode and a 9310 steel cathode (dimensions: 40 mm×20 mm×3 mm). Each plating cycle followed the sequence of nickel bonding layer, copper, pure nickel, composite nickel and pure nickel, starting with the copper layer and ending with the composite nickel layer. The composite nickel plating solution was prepared by thoroughly dispersing diamond particles via agitation in a standard nickel plating solution. After preparation, the surface and cross-sectional morphology of the coating were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and its hardness was measured with a Vickers microhardness tester. Before conducting the friction and wear tests, the surface roughness (Ra) of both the coating and the carburized substrate was measured with a laser confocal microscope to keep their roughness levels comparable. Subsequently, friction and wear tests were performed under applied loads of 30 N and 100 N with a ZrO₂ counter ball. After testing, the depth and volume of the wear tracks were measured with a laser confocal microscope. The wear mechanisms were then investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) morphology and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the wear tracks. The results indicated that the deposited coating was dense, uniform, and exhibited good adhesion, with a hardness of 485HV0.2 and a surface roughness (Ra) of 0.52 μm. Its wear rates were 0.97×10^-5 mm³/(N·m) under the 30 N load and 0.61×10^-5 mm³/(N·m) under the 100 N load. The carburized substrate had a hardness of 597HV0.2, a roughness of Ra=0.53 μm, and wear rates of 0.75×10^-5 mm³/(N·m) and 0.82×10^-5 mm³/(N·m) under 30 N and 100 N loads, respectively. While the carburized substrate exhibited a lower wear rate than the coating under the 30 N low load, the coating demonstrated a lower, more stable friction coefficient and a reduced wear rate under the 100 N high load. This was attributed to severe abrasive and fatigue wear in the carburized substrate under the high load. In contrast, a composite synergistic layer composed of nickel, diamond, copper, zirconium oxide, and an oxide film formed on the coating surface during the high-load friction process. This layer effectively suppressed crack propagation, interconnection, and fatigue spallation, ultimately establishing a stable wear regime dominated by oxidative wear and reducing overall material loss. This study concludes that the Ni-diamond composite coating fabricated via brush electroplating can effectively improve the high-load wear resistance of 9310 steel. The findings provide a theoretical basis and technical support for research on surface strengthening and repair coatings for high-load moving components.

Key words

brush plating / diamond / composite coating / wear resistance / wear mechanism

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CHEN Chen, LU Zhengwei, CHEN Xinbin, XIN Yitao, HU Guanghui, SHU Chang, HU Yongjun, JIANG Fajian, MO Jiaming, CAO Fuxiang. Wear Resistance of Brush Electroplated Ni-diamond Composite Coating on 9310 Steel Surface[J]. Surface Technology. 2026, 55(17): 89-99

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