Static Electroplating of Iron Triad on Fastener Washers

Fasteners are commonly used in construction industry for parts joining purpose. There are many types of construction fasteners such as stud, bolt, anchor, nut, screw, and washer. The major problem of the fastener made by carbon steel is the poor resistance to corrosion. Electroplating is a simple yet low-cost tool to give a strong corrosion protection coating layer on the carbon steel. This study was performed to investigate the effect of current and deposition time on the iron triad (cobalt-nickel-iron) electroplating on the fastener washer. The experiment was conducted at 50 °C, pH 1-3 and at different electroplating time (30 minutes to 90 minutes) and current (0.2 A to 0.5 A). Burnt-out surface coating was observed on the fastener washer when the current was more than 0.4 A. A field test was carried out for 60 days to observe the corrosion behavior and performance of the products. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed that a thin protection layer with 5.64 µm was formed at 60 minutes of electroplating time and 0.4 A of current. The surface roughness of the fastener washer was increased by increasing the electroplating time and current. The hardness was also improved with higher current and electroplating time if compared to the original fastener washer. The result of this study confirmed that a strong adhesive corrosion resistant layer to the fastener washer was using the current of 0.4 A (77 mA/cm2) and the electroplating time of 60 minutes.