Novel Multiphysics Modeling of Electroplating Process for Metallic Aerospace Components

In this STTR effort, TDA will focus on developing a unified multi-physics and statistical-based framework to optimize electroplating parameters, and to predict the influence of defect, residual stress, and environment on fatigue strength of high strength steel (HSS) aerospace component. The proposed approach accounts for both hydrogen embrittlement and residual stress effects on fatigue performance. The key investigations of the proposed approach are: 1) development of multi-physics and multi-scale electroplating simulation module to characterize electrochemical and mechanical processes for Zn-Ni Electroplating; 2) development of multi-objective optimization algorithms to determine the optimum settings of the electroplating process that result in the optimum Zn-Ni coating; 3) critical sets of experiments to validate our electroplating simulation module, and identify the types and causes of plating defects. The framework will enable engineers to reliably predict electrochemical/mechanical behavior and suggest design parameters to optimize electroplating process for aerospace component instead of going through several experimental trials.