Internal Stress in Electrodeposited Metals

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the mechanism responsible for the internal stress in the electrodeposited metals. Metals such as nickel, chromium, copper, etc., exhibit tensile stress during their electrodeposition, whereas zinc and cadmium show compressive stress. When the electrodeposited metals are kept in air by removal from their electrolytes after electrodeposition, they release a certain amount of hydrogen and the stress in them becomes more tensile. When hydrogen is electrodeposited on the surface of electrodeposited metals and hydrogen occlusion takes place in the electrodeposits, stress in metals is changed to compressive. From the results obtained, the authors have arrived at a conclusion that one of the factors responsible for creating internal stress in the electrodeposited metals is the release or introduction of hydrogen in the electrodeposited metals.