Energy Industry
There are various sources of energy available. Solar, wind, gas, water are renewable sources of energy. None of these are available can be utilised in the free form. They have to be extracted and processed in order to be used as a source of energy using equipment. Plating is used in these equipment for variety of applications.
WHERE IS IT USED?
Plating has tremendous advantages including corrosion protection, electrical conductivity and oxidation resistance.It also increases the strength and durability of the components. It promotes greater resistance to heat and gives a good aesthetic appeal. Plating is majorly used in the following components in energy industry:
✓ Solar cell lay up plates
✓ Wave power machine components
✓ Undersea components for generating tidal power
✓ Win turbine bearings
✓ Solar hot water channels
and more
Plating Process
Plating can be done in variety of ways depending on the type of application. Here are a few important process used by electronics industry to plate different components.
Silver Plating
Copper plating is widely used to plate battery banks and switch boards. It provides good corrosion resistance and heat conductivity. It also provides low contact resistance.
Electroless Nickel Plating
Electroless Nickel Plating is the chemical process of depositing a layer of nickel-phosphorus or nickel-boron alloy on a surface. This process is primarily used to provide more even and uniform coating on the surface. Various types of nickel alloys are used in this process based on the need:
✓ High Phosphorus for corrosion protection
✓ Medium Phosphorous for aesthetic appeal
✓ Low Phosphorus for hardness
Anodising
Anodising is used to promote high corrosion resistance and hardness. This is mainly used for coating of aluminium components in the power generation equipment.