STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF FILMS FORMED IN THE FRICTION OF COPPER ALLOYS AT STEELS.

The film formed in the friction of copper alloys on steel in synthetic oils based on complex ethers is similar to a composite material: an organic matrix consisting of the tribopolymerization products of the lubricant reinforced by metallic particles of copper, brass, iron carbides, and chemical compounds of copper, for example, copper hydrocarbonates. The particles are evidently sources of point formation in the organic matrix. The particle concentration decreases from the base of the film to its surface. The film base has a complex microrelief and a developed surface, which determines the strong attachment to the organic matrix. The copper-containing film formed in friction has a gradient of mechanical properties over its depth, which leads to localization of the shear deformations and breakdown in the upper, more mobile, layers of the film. This is what explains the achievement of low frictional coefficients, its high antifrictional properties, and the carrying capacity. At the same time, the film formed in friction, which is capable of regeneration in the course of wear, separates the frictional surfaces, thereby preventing wear.