Effect of current polarity on electrical sliding wear behavior of Cu-WS_2-graphite-WS_2 nanotube composites in air and vacuum conditions

In this paper Cu-WS2-graphite-WS2nanotube composites were fabricated by powder metallurgy hot pressing method.The effect of current polarity on the wear rates and contact voltage drops of the composites were investigated using a brush-on-slip ring tribometer rubbing against Cu-5 wt.%Ag alloy ring in air and vacuum,respectively.The worn surfaces of the composites were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).Surface profile curves of the worn tracks were measured using the surface profiler.The results demonstrated that the current polarity has a significant effect on the wear rates and contact voltage drops of the composites in both air and vacuum conditions.Positive brush possesses a higher wear rate compared with the negative brush in the air atmosphere since the electrical field direction activates oxidation at the positive brush surface while inhibits oxidation at the negative brush surface.Except for the regular wear losses,the combined effect of molten metal bridge erosion and arc erosion cause the positive brush to lose extra material and the negative brush to gain extra material,so the positive brush shows a higher wear rate in the vacuum condition.The contact voltage drop of the positive brush is lower than that of the negative brush in the air atmosphere,but contrarily,the positive brush shows a higher contact voltage drop in the vacuum condition.

Friction and wear properties of Cu-based self-lubricating composites in air and vacuum conditions

Cu-based self-lubricating materials containing two different solid lubricants （graphite and MoSs） were fabricated by P/M hot pressing techniques. Physical and mechan- ical properties of the samples were examined. The effects of graphite and MoSs contents on friction coefficient and wear rate were investigated by a ring-on-disc wear machine in air and vacuum conditions, respectively. Tribo-films formed on the worn surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray photo- electron spectroscopy （XPS）. The results indicated that density, hardness and bending strength all increased with the increasing content of MoS2, while the relative density was opposite. Sample B containing 15 vol. pct graphite and 15 vol. pct MoS2 pos- sessed superior tribological properties both in air and vacuum conditions. However, the tribo-films formed on the worn surfaces of the sample B were greatly discrepant in composition at different testing conditions. In air, the volume ratio of MoS2 and graphite in the tribo-films is 0.31：1 whereas the ratio in vacuum is 1.07：1.