A comparative investigation into the material matching performance of different friction pairs under current-carrying friction

Current collector-third rail systems are often used for power transmission in intercity rail trains. To improve the material matching performance of carbon skateboard/contact rails, three different contact pairs (powder met-allurgy carbon skateboard/stainless steel, copper-impregnated carbon skateboard/stainless steel and copper -impregnated carbon skateboard/tin bronze) were used to investigate current-carrying friction performance. The results indicated that the contact resistance and friction coefficient of the copper-base powder metallurgy/ stainless steel contacts consistently remained at low and stable values under different currents, while the contact resistance and friction coefficient of the copper-impregnated/stainless steel and copper-impregnated/tin bronze contact pairs were more sensitive to increased currents. According to the tribological analysis, the wear mech-anisms of the three contact pairs were mainly abrasive wear, oxidative wear and adhesive wear.