Wear behavior of high strength and high conductivity Cu alloys under dry sliding

In order to study the wear behavior of different kinds of contact wires, the dry sliding wear behaviors of Cu-Sn, Cu-Ag and Cu-Mg alloys prepared by up-drawn continuous casting and followed continuous extrusion were studied. The research was tested on a block-on-ring wear tester. The results indicate that the friction coefficient is remarkably influenced by the formation of a continuous tribofilm, which consists of oxidation film. The abrasion, adhesion, oxidation and plastic deformation are observed. Oxidation and abrasion wear mechanisms dominate at the lower sliding velocity and load. The combination of oxidation and adhesion play leading roles with the increasing load and velocity. Plastic deformation is detected under higher applied load and sliding velocities.