A study on the formation and the tribological role of mass transfers layers at rubbing silver-coated surface

Abstract

The tribological role of mass transfer layer was studied with silver coatings under various ranges of load and sliding speed. Silver coating was performed with a functionally gradient coating method. Tests were performed in dry sliding conditions, using a ball-on-disk contact configuration, at the load of 0.0196-17.64 N and the sliding speed of 20-1,000 ㎜/s in ambient air. Optical microscope and EPMA analyses showed that contact surfaces were covered with the mass transfer layers of agglomerated wear particles depending upon the contact conditions, and they greatly influenced the tribological characteristics of the surfaces. However, the formation of mass transfer layer was suppressed as the sliding speed increased, and above a critical sliding speed, no mass transfer layer was able to form. For building up a general framework of tribological behavior of the coated silver films, all test data were summarized on a map whose axes are contact pressure and sliding speed.