Tribological Behavior and Wear Mechanism of Cu-SiO₂ Sintered Composite under Different Sliding Speeds

In this paper, the tribological behavior of Cu-SiO₂ composite against 1045 steel was studied. Based on the characterization of worn surface, worn subsurface and wear debris in morphology and composition, the friction layer effects on the tribological behavior of coupled materials and the wear mechanism were discussed. Abrasive wear and adhesive wear are the dominant mechanisms at the 0.56 m/s–1.12 m/s condition. Delamination wear and oxidation wear are the dominant wear mechanisms at the 1.68 m/s–2.24 m/s condition. Plastic and thermal deformation cause the evolution in morphology and structure of the tribolayer of Cu-SiO₂. There is a certain correlation between the friction coefficient and the variation in friction temperature during sliding wear of Cu-SiO₂ and 1045 steels. The addition of SiO₂ induces the accumulation of frictional heat at the friction interface, which leads to an increase in the average temperature of the contact surface and transfer.