The Effect of Chromium Plating on the Fatigue Strength of Steel

SynopsisThe effect of chromium plating on the fatigue limit of En 25 (Ni/Cr/Mo) steel in two conditions of heat-treatment both “as plated” and after post-plating heat-treatment at various temperatures up to 620° C. has been determined.The reduction of fatigue strength caused by chromium plating and the further marked reduction produced by heat-treatment below 300° C., also the beneficial effect of heat-treating at 440°C. reported by previous investigators have been confirmed.The relationship between internal stress in the chromium deposit and the fatigue limit of the coated basis-metal and the effects of post-plating heat-treatment upon the fatigue limit have been elucidated by systematic determinations of the internal stress in chromium deposits prepared under the same conditions of deposition and of heat-treatment as were used in the corresponding fatigue limit measurements.Changes in the fatigue limit resulting from chromium plating of steel appear to be governed jointly by the nature and amount of the...