Cavitation Erosion Behavior of Electroless Ni–P Coating and Optimization of Process Parameter Using Analysis of Variance with Orthogonal Array

This study investigated the cavitation erosion resistance of electroless Ni–P (EN) coated gray cast iron (GCI) in seawater solution. Furthermore, the optimum coating design parameters were examined to minimize cavitation erosion damage through analysis of variance (ANOVA) based on the L₉ orthogonal array. In this study, four coating design factors were used: concentration of source of nickel (A), concentration of reducer agent (B), deposition temperature (C), and pressure of shot peening (D). In accordance with the regulation of the modified ASTM G32, the cavitation erosion experiment was conducted for 1 hour in a seawater solution to find the optimum design parameters which can minimize the cavitation erosion damage. Besides, ANOVA was performed to verify the contribution of each coating design parameter. As a result, the concentration of reducer agent among the EN process parameters was determined as the most significant factor in the cavitation erosion behavior.