Metallic Structures with Variable Properties

A method of preparing a variable property metallic deposit, comprising the steps of electrodepositing a metallic material from an aqueous electrolyte bath in a single electrolytic cell having at least one anode and at least one cathode with electrodepositing parameters being average current density ranging from 5 to 10,000 mA/cm2, forward pulse on time ranging from 0.1 to 500 ms, pulse off time ranging from 0 to 10,000 ms, reverse pulse on time ranging from 0 to 500 ms, peak forward current density ranging from 5 to 10,000 mA/cm2;

• peak reverse current density ranging from 5 to 20,000 mA/cm2;
• frequency ranging from 0 to 1,000 Hz;
• a duty cycle ranging from 5 to 100%;
• bath temperature ranging from 0 to 100° C.;
• working electrode rotation speed ranging from 0 to 1,000 rpm;
• when two or more soluble anodes of different compositions are used, average current fraction in each anode ranging from 5 to 95%;
• bath agitation rate ranging from 1 to 6,000 ml/(min/cm2);
• bath flow direction at cathode ranging from incident {perpendicular) to tangential;
• shielding anode by covering between 0-95% of the geometrical anode surface area;
• and bath electrochemically inert particulate content ranging from 0 to 70% by volume;
• and modulating at least one of these parameters during the electrodepositing to cause variation in a deposit property by more than 10% to vary at least one property selected from the group consisting of grain size, hardness, yield strength, Young's modulus, resilience, elastic limit, ductility, internal or residual deposit stress, stiffness, chemical composition, coefficient of thermal expansion, coefficient of friction, electrical conductivity, magnetic coercive force, thickness;
• and in the case of electrodeposit of metal matrix composites, volume particulate fraction particulate particle size, particulate shape and/or particulate chemistry;
• and provide a deposit thickness ranging from 20 microns to 5 cm having a fine-grained microstructure with an average grain size ranging from 2 nm to 10,000 nm throughout 1.5 nm to 5 cm of said thickness.