Friction and wear behavior of a centrifugally cast lead-free copper alloy containing graphite particles

The tribological properties of a centrifugally cast lead-free copper alloy (C90300), containing an average of 13 vol pct graphite particles (5 µm), have been studied. Friction tests were carried out at three different loads of 44, 88, and 176 N using a pin-on-disk testing method for the base copper alloy and the copper-graphite composite against a 1045 steel disk counterface. The friction coefficient, temperature rise, and weight loss of the pin and disk were measured. To understand the wear mechanism, the wear debris and the surfaces of the pin and the disk were analyzed before and after the tests, using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The friction coefficient of the copper-graphite pins was lower than that of the base-alloy pins for all applied loads, which was attributed to the presence of the graphite in the matrix. It was also observed that the presence of graphite in the matrix reduces the transfer of iron from the counterface to the pins, but enhances the transfer of materials from the pins to the counterface. The temperature rise in the counterface running against the base-alloy pins was larger than the temperature rise in the counterface running against the copper-graphite pins, both tested under similar conditions. In addition, the effect of element transfer on the friction coefficient, variations in the weight of the pins and the counterface, as well as the surface roughness, are attributed to the formation of a graphitic tribolayer on the surface of the copper-graphite pins. An isostrain model predicting the friction coefficient of the composites is proposed, which agrees well with the measurements in the present article as well as with measurements made by other investigators.[10]