Wear of Quenched and Aged Cu-Be Alloy at Current Transfer

Sliding friction tests were carried out on quenched and aged unlubricated samples of C17200 beryllium bronze with and without the current flow through frictional contact. It is shown that the quenched samples are exposed to corrosion-mechanical wear by the oxidation of the friction surface, followed by the separation of wear particles as ultradispersed oxides. The wear of the aged sample is attended by the separation of big wear particles as a result of adhesive interaction. The application of electric current in sliding allows reducing the wear resistance of quenched bronze to 109.3 h/g as compared to the 143.9 h/g of the sample tested without current. The application of electricity results only in a negligible reduction in the wear resistance of the aged bronze samples from 86.6 to 77.8 h/g.