Letter 3607

Phosphor bronze hydrogen embrittlement? 

Wed -

I have a diaphragm type spring 5.5 inch dia x .020 thick of phosphor bronze (ASTM B139) which is required to be electroless nickle plated. My question is will hydrogen embrittlement be a problem with this process as with non electroless plating? We are presently waterjet machining the part and then hand polishing to 20 micro inch before plating.

Howard Waller
Gerber Coburn, Inc. Muskogee, OK

I have never seen a reference to a problem with hydrogen embrittlement on any bronze.

1st, it is probably too soft to be a problem.

2nd, It is normally associated with grain boundaries and carbides, but not always.

I will be looking forward to the answer from somebody that knows , for sure.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida

I plated a 0.5 mm dia phosphor bronze wire for my customer. After two weeks he came back complaining that the wire is extreemly brittle.

I did a fresh job for him with anodic cleaning and Asymmetric A.C. plating and that worked.

I have not come across any reference that says explicitly that phosphor bronze is prone to hydrogen embrittlement. Vijay

Yashawant Deval - electroplating shop Pune, maharashtra, India

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