Russian Physics Journal, Vol. 56, No. 4, September, 2013 (Russian Original No.

4, April, 2013)

CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE SURFACE LAYER OF

METAL MATERIALS UPON FRICTION AND ELECTRIC
CURRENT LOADING
V. V. Fadin

UDC 621.891

Dependences of the electric conductivity of a contact and wear intensity of metal materials on the electric
current density in sliding friction are obtained. It is established that alloying of the material basis leads to
faster damage of the friction surface. The presence of about 40 t.% oxygen in the surface layer is detected by
the Auger spectrometry method. It is demonstrated by the x-ray diffraction method that FeO formed in the
surface layer leads to an increase in the electric conductivity of the contact.
Keywords: surface structure, sintered composite, contact current density, Auger spectra, surface layer, phase
composition.

INTRODUCTION
Wear-proof friction units for new technological objects intended to operate under severe conditions (in vacuum,
at low and high temperatures, at high velocities, under high loads, in aggressive media, under high-power radiation,
etc.) can be developed if friction and wear mechanisms have been understood sufficiently deeply. Friction loading of
the material causes, as a rule, structural changes in the contact surface layer (SL). The scale and character of structural
SL changes depend on concrete conditions of loading, that is, on the input tribosystem parameters. Energy of external
action can be absorbed by the surface layer in the process of deformation, change of elemental and phase SL
composition, and other structural changes leading to the formation of a friction-induced structure (FIS) layer. The FIS
properties completely determine the functional characteristics (wear resistance) and other parameters of the contact [1,
2]. One of the input tribosystem parameters is the initial (primary) structure of the contact material which considerably
influences the FIS properties. Of particular interest is a study of the SL evolution and FIS deterioration under external
high-energy action. This demonstrates the expediency of determination of the functional contact characteristics.
Therefore, the necessary stage of studying the evolution and damage of contact layers of the material of the friction pair
under high-energy external action is the elucidation of interrelation of the primary structure, contact characteristics, and
structural SL state.
Friction and electric current loading of the contact material zone also cause deformation and other structural SL
changes that depend mainly on the initial composition and contact current density. These input parameters of the
tribosystem with current collection influence the contact wear resistance and electric conductivity. The wear resistance
is an integral expression for the mechanical SL strength; therefore, it depends on the structural metallophysical
parameters, that is, on the shape and density of structural defects, elemental and phase compositions, etc. The dynamic
character of deformation of microvolumes in the contact spot causes a wide spectrum of structural states resulted from
local tempering. The variety of physical and chemical processes in the contact zone proceeding against the background
of mechanical interaction of surfaces does not allow a fundamental dependence of the wear process to be obtained to
control the friction. Therefore, the main method of studying the friction behavior is an experiment [3].

Institute for Strength Physics and Materials Science of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, Tomsk, Russia, e-mail: aleut@ispms.ru. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika,
No. 4, pp. 1621, April, 2013. Original article submitted February 22, 2013.
378

1064-8887/13/5604-0378 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

TABLE 1. Main Parameters of the Sliding Electrocontact Zone of Metal Composites in the Initial Stage of Catastrophic
Wear
Serial
jc,
106,
rsc1,
Charge property/composition, vol.%
P, %
A
FeO, nm aCu, nm Fe, nm
2
2
number
A/cm S/cm
m
1
20% Cu + 10% Gr + Fe
290
330
1.02 0.4300 0.3615 0.2866 0.16 10
2
20% Cu + 10% Gr + SH15
280
175
1.09 0.4295 0.3618 0.2867 0.24 12
3
ILGT
175
120
0.82 0.4280 0.3615 0.2867 0.16 15
4
20% Cu + 10% Gr + G13
200
75
0

0.3602

1.0
13
5
20% Cu + Fe
240
300
1.2
0.4300 0.3615 0.2866 0.16 10
6
20% Cu + SH15
280
187
0.06 0.4296 0.3616 0.2867 0.38 36
7
0.2% carbon steel (cast)
275
320

0.4307

0.2867 0.18
0
8
SH15 (cast)
200
220

0.4303

0.2867 0.28
0
Notes. Here SH15 denotes bearing steel grade SH14 reprocessed from grinding tailings of bearing production,
G13 denotes Hadfield steel (13% Mn), and Gr denotes graphite.

High-energy external action on the SL of the tribosystem with current collection can be implemented using the
running electric current with a contact density higher than 100 A/cm2. It should be noted that in practice the contact
current density does not exceed 60 A/cm2 [4]. It is expedient to study the structural SL changes in friction with higher
current density using materials on the metal basis. Usually the materials with current collection comprise graphite as
a solid lubricant in the structure [1, 4]. However, carbon which is always presented in the structure of the metal material
diffuses always toward the friction surface [5, 6], thereby reducing the wear resistance and the electric conductivity of
the contact. Therefore, it is of interest to study the structural SL changes of materials that have no carbon in the initial
structure in friction with contact current density higher than 100 A/cm2.
The present work is aimed at studying the interrelation of the initial structure, structural changes of the surface
layer, and functional characteristics of the contact of metal materials under loading by friction and electric current with
the contact density higher than 100 A/cm2.

MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Model powder composites had charge structures (in vol.%) given in Table 1. Samples were sintered in vacuum
at a temperature of 1100C for 2 h. The specific electric resistance of the composites was determined by the ammetervoltmeter method. The chemical composition of the contact layer was determined using a Shkhuna-2 Auger
spectrometer. The phase analysis was performed on a DRON-3 diffractometer in CoK radiation. The tribotechnical
tests were performed with sliding current collection without lubrication at a pressure of 0.13 MPa and sliding velocity
of 5 m/s on an SMT-1 friction machine with modernized sample fastening. Loading was performed by the scheme
shaft-shoes similarly to [7]. As a counterbody, 0.45% C steel 50 HRC was used. The sliding distance was 9 km. The
contact current density j was defined as a ratio of current i to the nominal tribocontact area Aa. The wear intensity Ih was
defined as a ratio of the change in the sample height to the sliding distance.
The contact characteristics of model materials were compared with analogous data for the well-known hotpressed composite (ILGT 741582010 type trolleybus current collection insert) comprising 43% Cu + 42% Fe
+ 10% Pb + 2% Zn + graphite.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The electric resistance r and the wear intensity Ih in the friction zone are important functional characteristics of
the tribosystem with current collection. From Fig. 1a and b it can be seen that the specific surface contact electric
conductivity rs1 = j/U increases in a certain range with increasing contact current density j and decreasing of the contact
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Fig. 1. Dependences of the surface electric conductivity (a) and wear intensity (b) of the contact
composites: , Cu + 10% Gr + 70% Fe; , Cu + 10% Gr + 70% SH15; , ILGT; and ,
Cu + 10% Gr + 70% G13 on the current density and distribution of elements in the working layer of the
composite Cu + 10% Gr + 70% Fe with depth (c).

Fig. 2. Dependences of the specific surface electrical conductivity (a) and wear intensity (b) of the contact
of materials: 0.2% carbon steel (), steel SH15 (), Cu + 80% SH15 (+), and Cu + 80% Fe () on the
current and distribution of elements in the working layer of 0.2% carbon steel (c).

voltage drop U. The maximum electric conductivity of the contact (Fig. 1a) is observed at the bending point of the
current-voltage characteristic for a sharp increase in the wear intensity (Fig. 1b) that indicates the onset of the
catastrophic wear. The increase in the contact current density in this regime causes the contact electric conductivity to
decrease (Fig. 1a) due to fast damage of the surface layer. It can be seen that the contact electric conductivity rs1 of
composite 1 (numbers of the materials are indicated in Table 1) is higher than rs1 of the contact of other composites.
High rs1 value usually causes low wear intensity of the surface layer; therefore, composite 1 demonstrates high wear
resistance for any current density. It can also be seen that electric conductivity rFIS1 and the contact current density jc at
which the catastrophic wear regime begins for composite 1 have numerical values higher than the same characteristics
of other composites (see Fig. 1 and Table 1). The structural SL changes of composites 14 were manifested visually as
a FIS layer [7]. The working layer under the influence of friction and electric current was saturated by oxygen whose
concentration could be as great as 40 at.% (Fig. 1c). The other general feature of friction of all graphite-comprising
composites was a significant increase in the carbon concentration exceeding 25 at.% when approaching the contact
surface. This can be seen on the example of composite 1 (Fig. 1c). The iron concentration after friction with contact
current density up to 300 A/cm2 decreased at the contact surface in comparison with its content at depths greater than
400 nm. It can also be seen that the iron and copper contents at depths of the working layer did not exceed 60 at.% Fe
and 20 at.% Cu, respectively. It should be noted that depending on the structure, the model composites in powder
charge amounted to 12 at.% C, 20 at.% Cu, and 68 at.% Fe. In this formal estimate, the alloying elements in steels were
taken into account as iron atoms. In the well-known ILTG composite, these concentrations differed slightly.
The electric conductivity and wear resistance of contact of graphiteless materials 58 were higher (Fig. 2) in
comparison with the same functional characteristics of contact graphite-containing composites 24 (Fig. 1). The onset
380

of catastrophic wear was accompanied by a decrease in rs1. The structural SL changes of composites 58 were visually
manifested through the formation of the FIS layer. The absence of graphite in the initial structure of materials 58 led to
the formation of the contact layer comprising 40 at.% oxygen and 40 at.% Fe that could be seen on the example of
0.2% carbon steel (Fig. 2c) after friction with j > 250 A/cm2. The carbon content did not exceed 10 at.%.
High oxygen content in the contact layer allowed us to suggest the formation of oxides. The x-ray diffraction
patterns of the FIS layer of composites 1 and 2 demonstrated weak reflections of (220)Cu2O, Fe3O4, and Fe2O3 oxides,
but reflections of these compounds were not observed in the FIS layers of other composites. The x-ray diffraction
patterns of the friction surface of composites 13 contained reflections of FeO oxide. The intensity of these reflections
considerably exceeded the intensity of reflections of others oxides. This indicated predominant arrangement of oxygen
in FeO oxide. The FeO oxide had the lattice parameter (see Table 1) close to the well-known value aFeO = 0.43070 nm
(card ASTM 6-615). The x-ray diffraction pattern of the friction surface for composite 4 had no reflections of oxides.
The x-ray phase analysis demonstrated that reflections of the main structural components iron and copper whose
lattice parameters slightly differed from the well-known ones (see Table 1) were observed on the x-ray patterns of the
friction surface of composites 13. The working layer of composite 4 did not contain BCC iron, but contained alloyed
FCC iron whose reflections were superimposed on copper reflections. Therefore, the copper lattice parameter aCu
presented in Table 1 had lower values than the well-known parameter aCu = 0.3615 nm (card ASTM 4-836).
The x-ray diffraction patterns of the FIS layer of materials 58 contained FeO, iron, and copper reflections. In
addition, on the x-ray diffraction patterns of the friction surface of composites 5 and 6, weak reflections of Cu2O oxide
having the parameter Cu2O = 0.41990.4206 nm were observed. The x-ray diffraction patterns of the FIS layer of
materials 7 and 8 contained reflections of FeO and weak reflections of austenite with parameters FCC-Fe = 0.3595
0.3604 nm.
It is well known that the microvolume of the contact spot experiences severe plastic deformation of the
material. The excited SL state may lead to the occurrence of ultradispersed rotational structures being the main ones and
providing metal transition to the amorphous state [8]. It is impossible to exclude that the main portion of the FIS layer
volume in the metal composites presented in [9] has amorphous structure. Dispersed particles of the initial phases were
observed in the FIS layer volume and in the contact spot. It should be considered that in practice pure metals are never
transformed into nanocrystalline or amorphous state upon severe plastic deformation, since easy relaxation of arising
strains is observed. Intermetallides can be transformed into the amorphous state because of the complexity of the
relaxation process under severe plastic deformation. That is, the relaxation is the main factor determining the structure
type [10]. Intermetallides have more complex atomic lattices than single-element metals. This allows us to assume that
materials having complex structure or complex set of chemical elements or phases in their structure are not capable of
easy strain relaxation. Therefore, the contact spot material having a complex structure will be damaged faster upon
severe plastic strain (for example, under friction loading) than the material with a simpler structure. In the present work,
the working layer of composite 1 had a simpler structure in the initial and final states, which allowed the contact with
a higher SL shear stability, that is, with a higher wear resistance to be produced. It should also be noted that the contact
layers of composites 1 and 2 had indications of transition in the liquid state at the moment of contact and relatively high
contact characteristics. These indications were weakly manifested on the friction surface of composite 3 and were
absent on the friction surface of composite 4 that corresponded to relatively low contact characteristics.
At the moment of contact, the microvolume of the contact spot had the structural state different from that
observed after the contact termination. However, the formation of a dissipative structure can be suggested in the
microvolume of the contact spot in the form of a mixture of chemical elements. The approach to the equilibrium for this
structure after the contact termination can proceed with small relaxation time due to the formation of oxides or other
phases (initial phases, carbon, intermetallides, and so on). The occurrence of the FeO oxide in the working layer of
composites 13 and 58 is the kind of relaxation with small relaxation time. The FeO oxide could be localized on the
friction surface as a charge and increase the SL shear stability. It could also be seen that the presence of FeO did not
interfere with the formation of the contact with relatively high electric conductivity and wear resistance (Fig. 1). If the
relaxation time is large, the structure of the microvolume of the contact spot after contacting will represent mostly
a mixture of chemical elements. Then oxygen can be present in the SL as a solution up to 40% in metal. The FeO
content can be estimated if we consider the parameter A = (I1 + I2)/I3, where I1, I2, and I3 are integral intensities of the
strongest FeO(111), FeO(200), and Cu(111) reflections, respectively. The FeO(111) and FeO(200) reflections have
381

100% intensity each (card ASTM 6-615). However, in practice these intensities could differ from each other; therefore,
it was expedient to use the sum of the intensities. It was convenient to calculate the FeO content counted from copper,
because these materials have identical copper volumes. The increase in A was accompanied, as a rule, by an increase in
jc and rsc1 (Table 1) and decrease in Ihc (Fig. 1) in friction of composites 14 containing graphite. It should be borne in
mind that the ILTG composite had non-sintered structure; therefore, this behavior of the parameter jc could be violated.
It is not excluded that this behavior of the parameter jc was absent, because the parameter A of composite 5 was greater
than the parameter A of composite 6, but jc of composite 6 was greater than jc of composite 5 (Table 1). We can only
state that low A value corresponded to lower rsc1 values, that is, low FeO content in the SL caused friction with low
contact electric conductivity. The low A value of composite 6 was caused by its high porosity (Table 1). The low A
value of composite 4 was caused by the presence of oxygen solution in the metal, that is, impossibility of FeO
formation. The solution of any element (for example, oxygen) led to an increase in the electric resistance of the
microvolume in the contact spot of composite 4 and to an increase in the amount of the Joule heat. In this case, high
temperature in the contact zone and low relaxation of thermal and mechanical strains in the contact spot led to low
characteristics of the contact. It should be noted that low value of the specific electric resistance of the initial structure
not always allowed the wear resistance and electric conductivity of the contact to be increased (Table 1). High porosity
P of composite 6 promoted reduction of the electric conductivity of the contact (see Fig. 2a).
Loading of graphiteless materials 5 and 6 containing copper by friction and electric current caused the
formation of the FIS layer whose thickness was less than of the FIS layer of composites containing graphite. This
demonstrated a lower scale of the SL deformation of graphiteless materials. This factor together with a simpler initial
structure and minimum carbon contact in the contact layer allowed the contact characteristics to be increased. A simpler
initial structure of material 7 in comparison with the structure of material 8 led to higher contact characteristics. In
addition, a simpler structure of materials 7 and 8 allowed the working layer with a considerable amount of FeO oxide
and low carbon content to be formed (Fig. 2c). However, no significant increase in the wear resistance and electrical
conductivity was observed. This demonstrated that the increase in the contact characteristics by using simpler initial
structure had a certain limit that could be described by the functional characteristics jc 300 /cm2, rsc1 < 350 S/cm2,
and Ih > 10 m/km (Table 1 and Fig. 2). Therefore, the structural state of the contact layer corresponding to high
contact characteristics must be formed not only through the application of a simpler initial structure; another method
must also be found.

CONCLUSIONS
Material loading by friction and electric current leads to severe plastic deformation of microvolumes of the
contact spot and formation of the friction-induced structure layer. The contact wear resistance and electric conductivity
under these conditions increased due to efficient strain relaxation in these microvolumes. This was attained by
decreasing the number of alloying elements and phases in the microvolume of the contact spot. This condition was best
realized for metal basis of the material consisting of single-element phase. The contact layer contained up to 40 at.%
oxygen which could be present in FeO oxide. If the material basis allowed the strain in the contact sport to be relaxed
via liberation of oxygen from the solution in the form of FeO oxide, the contact characteristics increased. Some
composites had a basis which formed a solution in the microvolume of the contact spot, for example, the composite
20% Cu + graphite + G13. The solution of oxygen and other elements in the contact layer reduced the contact
characteristics. The absence of graphite in the initial structure led to the formation of the contact layer containing FeO
oxide. Therefore, these materials had generally contact characteristics higher than graphite-containing materials. The
highest and approximately identical contact characteristics had the materials based on unalloyed iron, that is,
Cu + graphite + Fe, Cu + Fe, and Fe (0.2% carbon steel) that formed approximately identical phase and elemental
composition of the contact layer. The catastrophic wear of the metal materials was characterized by the limiting contact
parameters jc 300 A/cm2, rsc1 < 350 S/cm2, and Ih > 10 m/km for sliding velocity of 5 m/s and pressure of 0.13 MPa
that could not be improved considerably only by changing the initial structure.
This work was supported in part by Project III.23.2.4 of Program III.23.2 of Basic Research of the Siberian
Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
382

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