Current-carrying tribological behavior of C/Cu contact pairs in extreme temperature and humidity environments for railway catenary systems

作     者：SHEN MingXue JI DeHui HU Qiang XIAO Li LI QiuPing 

作者机构：State Key Laboratory of Performance Monitoring and Protecting of Rail Transit InfrastructureEast China Jiaotong UniversityNanchang 330013China School of Materials Science and EngineeringEast China Jiaotong UniversityNanchang 330013China Institute of Applied PhysicsJiangxi Academy of SciencesNanchang 330095China 

出 版 物：《Science China(Technological Sciences)》 (中国科学（技术科学英文版）)

年 卷 期：2024年第67卷第8期

页      面：2537-2548页

核心收录：

学科分类：08[工学] 080203[工学-机械设计及理论] 0802[工学-机械工程] 082301[工学-道路与铁道工程] 0823[工学-交通运输工程] 

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52365022, 52375181) the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (Grant No. 20224ACB204012) the Postgraduate Innovation Special Fund Project in Jiangxi Province (Grant No. YC2022-B177) the General Subject of State Key Laboratory of Performance Monitoring and Protecting of Rail Transit Infrastructure (Grant No.HJGZ2023208) 

主　　题：temperature/humidity pantograph-catenary system C/Cu wear current-carrying friction sliding electrical contact 

摘      要：Many current-carrying contact pairs, such as those found in pantograph-catenary systems, operate in open environments and are susceptible to significant external interference from temperature and humidity variations. This study investigated the evolution of the friction coefficient and contact resistance of C/Cu contact pairs under alternating temperature, humidity, and current conditions. Through experimentation, the wear rate and microtopography of the worn surface were analyzed under various constant parameters. Subsequently, the differences in tribological behavior and current-carrying characteristics of the contact pairs under these three parameters were explored. The results revealed that the decrease in temperature resulted in a significant increase in the friction coefficient of the contact pairs, carbon wear, and copper surface roughness. Additionally, the surface oxidation rate was lower at lower temperatures. Moreover, contact resistance did not consistently increase with decreasing temperature, owing to the combined action of the contact area and the oxide film. Compared with temperature, humidity fluctuations at room temperature exerted less influence on the friction coefficient and contact resistance of the contact pairs. Dry environments rendered carbon materials vulnerable to oxidation and cracking, while excessive humidity fostered abrasive wear and arcing. High-current conditions generally degraded the tribological properties of C/Cu contacts. In the absence of current, the friction coefficient was extremely high, and the copper transfer was high. Under excessive current, copper was susceptible to plowing by carbon micro-bumps and abrasive particles, resulting in a decrease in the friction coefficient. The release of lipids from the carbon surface due to temperature elevation weakened the electrical contact performance and increased the occurrence of arc erosion, thereby exacerbating carbon wear.