Electrotribological property of the Cu−Ag−Cr alloy with high-strength and high-conductivity

Abstract

By means of a vacuum induction furnace, a Cu-Ag-Cr alloy was produced. The electrotribological property and mechanism of the Cu-Ag-Cr alloy wear studied via wear property tests, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Wear tests were conducted with a specially designed sliding wear tester, which simulated the tribological conditions of sliding current collectors on contact wires in a railway system. The alloy wire was slid against a copperbased powder metallurgy strip under non-lubricated conditions. The results showed that the wear rate of CuAg-Cr alloy increases as the sliding speed increases under a normal load. Adhesive wear, abrasive wear, and electrical erosion wear are the governing wear mechanisms under the electrical current sliding processes. Under the same conditions, the wear resistance of the Cu-Ag-Cr alloy is 2-3 times that of the Cu-Ag alloy.

Synthesis and properties of 0.3%Y2O3/0.3%La2O3/0.3%Al2O3/Cu composite

“…Due to good mechanical and electrical properties, the copper composite is usually used as a contact material in place of silver, electrode material, and crystallizer material in continuous casting equipments [5][6][7][8]. Recently many researchers have been interested on how to fabricate the metallic oxide dispersion strengthened copper composite more efficiently using powder metallurgy, internal oxidation, casting, and hot pressing method [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Shi reported that the Al 2 O 3 /Cu composite prepared by internal oxidation shows high strength and high conductivity [19].…”

Effect of Alloying Elements on the Microstructure and Performance of Cu-6 pctAg In-Situ Composites

“…[30] Furthermore, the addition of Cr to Cu-0.1 pctAg alloy promoted the wear resistance of the resulting Cu-0.1 pctAg-0.3 pctCr alloy to approximately 2-3 times that of the Cu-0.1 pctAg alloy. [31] However, there are significant differences between the Nb and Cr phases in the Cu matrix during the deformation process. [32] For example, at similar drawing strains, the Nb-rich phase is quite ductile, and can easily be deformed into fibers during drawing, [33] while the Cr-rich phase is less ductile and difficult to deform into filaments.…”

Synergetic effect of NbSe2and Cr2Nb on the tribological and electrical behavior of Cu-based electrical contact composites

“…An electrical contact material with excellent performance should have high electrical and thermal conductivity, a high melting point, and high resistance to environmental reactions, especially high wear resistance to maintain contact integrity. At present, copper and silver alloys [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] are the most widely used contact materials throughout the world. However, the application eld of silver alloys is constrained to an extent because of low hardness, low strength and high cost.…”