Abstract: Friction and wear behavior of pure carbon strip/copper contact wire are studied on a high speed ring-on-block tester under the conditions of electric current of 100~300 A, sliding velocity of 80~180 km/h and normal force of 100~200 N. The test result indicates that without electric current, the wear rate of the carbon sliding strip is generally less than 0.014 2 g/km and the friction coefficient is generally higher than 0.3. When electric current was applied, the wear rate of the carbon strip increases significantly up to 10 times of that without electric current. However, the friction coefficient decreases significantly, generally varies between 0.24 and 0.3. Through observing the worn surface topography of the carbon strips, it is found that the areas of worn scars without electric current are smaller than those with electric current and that the areas become larger and larger with increasing electric current. In the presence of electric current, dark arc ablation stream-lines and pits are clearly observed on the worn surfaces. The sliding velocity and normal force have slight effects on the friction and wear behavior of carbon strip/copper contact wire. Electric current is found to be a main factor causing severe wear of the carbon strip material due to its producing high temperature wear and arc ablation.

Key words: Arc ablation, Friction and wear, Pure carbon strip/copper contact wire