Research Progress on Surface Damage and Protection Strategies of Armature-Rail Friction Pair Materials for Electromagnetic Rail Launch.

Electromagnetic rail launch technology has attracted increasing attention owing to its advantages in terms of range, firepower, and speed. However, due to electricity-magnetism-heat-force coupling, the surface of the armature-rail friction pair becomes severely damaged, which restricts the development of this technology. A series of studies have been conducted to reduce the damage of the armature-rail friction pair, including an analysis of the damage mechanism and protection strategies. In this study, various types of surface damage were classified into mechanical, electrical, and coupling damages according to their causes. This damage is caused by factors such as mechanical friction, mechanical impact, and electric erosion, either individually or in combination. Then, a detailed investigation of protection strategies for reducing damage is introduced, including material improvement through the use of novel combined deformation and heat treatment processes to achieve high strength and high conductivity, as well as surface treatment technologies such as structural coatings for wear resistance and functional coatings for ablation and melting resistance. Finally, future development prospects of armature-rail friction pair materials are discussed. This study provides a theoretical basis and directions for the development of high-performance materials for the armature-rail friction pair.

Effect of Fe and Cr on the Macro/Micro Tribological Behaviours of Copper-Based Composites.

Fe and Cr are regarded as two of the most important friction components in Cu-based composites (Cu-BCs). In this study, the microstructural detection and micro- and macro-tribology evaluation of Cu-BCs containing Fe and Cr were performed. The results indicated that both Fe and Cr formed diffusion interfaces with the copper matrix. Because of the generation of a defect interface layer, the Cr/Cu interface exhibited a low bonding strength. Owing to the excellent binding interface between Fe and Cu, the high coefficient of friction (COF) of Fe, and the formation of a mechanical mixing layer promoted by Fe, the Cu-BCs containing Fe presented better friction performance under all braking energy per unit area (BEPUA) values. The main wear mechanism of Cu-BCs containing Fe and Cr changed from abrasion to delamination with an increase in BEPUA, and the delamination of Cu-BCs containing Fe was induced by breaks in the mechanical mixed layer (MML).

Effect of CNTs in Copper Matrix on Mechanical Characteristics and Tribological Behavior under Dry Sliding and Boundary Lubrication Conditions.

In the present work, the mechanical and tribological properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced Cu matrix composites featuring 0-1.8 vol% CNTs prepared by spark plasma sintering under dry sliding and boundary lubrication conditions were investigated. The results of microstructure revealed that the bonding interface in Cu/CNT composites was very well established. Additionally, the addition of CNTs has a positive effect on improving the hardness and tensile strength of the composites, while the stress-strain response quasi-static tensile test confirms the same results. CNTs are proved to lead to certain self-lubrication. The addition of CNTs could result in decreased coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rates by reducing adhesive wear under dry sliding conditions, while the oil lubricating film was the major reason for decreased COF under boundary lubrication conditions.