Bill,
According to literature on the subject chrome plating can cause brittleness due
to the generation of hydrogen during the plating process. Even the low voltage
used in plating can cause the separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Not to say that plating WILL cause hydrogen entrapment brittleness, but it
can. Hydrogen entrapment can be avoided by baking the parts in order to drive
out trapped gasses.
And, of course, brittleness is only a concern with stressed parts. And I do
not know which metals or alloys are susceptable to hydrogen embrittlement.
-Roger
Bill Blue wrote:
> I don't think there is any way that chrome plating causes brittleness. My
> job takes me into pretty close contact with electroplaters, and
> enbrittlement is something I have never heard them discuss. Electroplating
> uses a low voltage DC current which should not alter the properties of the
> parent material. I would guess the broken spoke was due to the use of an
> improper steel alloy or perhaps a slag inclusion in the steel.
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