The Hull cell is a type of test cell used to qualitatively check the condition of an electroplating bath. It allows for optimization for current density range, optimization of additive concentration, recognition of impurity effects and indication of macro-throwing power capability. The Hull cell replicates the plating bath on a lab scale. It is filled with a sample of the plating solution, an appropriate anode which is connected to a rectifier. The "work" is replaced with a hull cell test panel that will be plated to show the "health" of the bath.
The Hull cell is a trapezoidal container that holds 267 ml of solution. This shape allows one to place the test panel on an angle to the anode. As a result, the deposit is plated at different current densities which can be measured with a hull cell ruler. The solution volume allows for a quantitative optimization of additive concentration: 1 gram addition to 267 mL is equivalent to 0.5 oz/gal in the plating tank.
Read more about this topic: Electroplating
Famous quotes containing the word cell:
“It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)