PLATING AND SURFACE FINISHING, cilt.86, sa.4, ss.87-90, 1999 (SCI-Expanded)
The effect of electrolytic and electroless nickel diffusion coatings was studied on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of AISI 304 anstenitic stainless steel. The nickel coating was diffused at the annealing temperature range of AISI 304 steel. It was observed that the diffusion process improves adhesion of the coating to the substrate. The electrolytic Ni-coated and diffused 304 samples showed better resistance to SCC (ASTM G 36-87), when compared to plain AISI 304, 316 and 321 stainless steels. No failure was observed in coated and diffused samples even after a 180 degrees bending prior to the SCC test, whereas the electroless Ni coating became brittle after the high-temperature diffusion process.