Numerical Simulation and PIV Test on Flow-Field Character of Zinc-Silica Composite Electrolyte

Abstract

Composite electrodeposition is one of the most important metallic material surface finishing technology and metal-based composite material preparation technology. Electric field and flow field are the two main influence factors during electrodeposition process of composite coatings. In this paper, numerical simulation of flow-field of zinc-silica composite electrolyte is finished by FLUENT software and the actual flow state is recorded by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The research work is also focused on influence of current and stirring intensity on flow character of electrolyte. The electrolyte composition and plating conditions are: ZnCl280 g/L, KCl 220 g/L, H3BO325 g/L, brightening agent 0.5 g/L, pH value of electrolyte 5.5, temperature 25°C, mass concentration of SiO2particles in electrolyte 1 g/L. The average particle size of SiO2particle is 11.07 μm. The stirring intensity is controlled between 0 and 3000 rpm, and current is controlled between 0 and 0.5 A. The results show that influence degree of stirring on flow field is much greater than current, and the numerical simulation of flow field finished by FLUENT software is approximately similar to the actual flow charactor recorded by PIV.