Effect of Expanded Graphite on the Tribological Behavior of Tin–Bronze Fiber Brushes Sliding against Brass

Abstract

Fiber brushes with expanded graphite (EG) as a lubricant were successfully prepared. Compression properties of brushes filled with unbent fibers and bent fibers with different packing fractions were compared. Moreover, the friction and wear behaviors of the brushes with the same fiber packing fractions (17.5 vol%) but different EG volume contents were investigated. The effect of EG content on the tribological behavior of the fiber brush was analyzed according to the microstructure, debris, and worn surface of the brush and counterface disc. Results showed that both the elastic constant and compression strength of the brushes filled with bent fibers increased with an increase in packing fraction. Brushes filled with 17.5 vol% bent fibers had similar compression strength (2.69 MPa) but a lower elastic constant (150 N/mm) compared to the brush filled with 17.5 vol% unbent fibers (2.62 MPa and 425 N/mm). The friction coefficients and wear rates of the brushes decreased from 1.02 and 1.6 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/Nm to 0.25 and 0.28 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/Nm as the EG increased to a critical value (23.7 vol%). The worn surface and wear debris demonstrate that the wear mechanism of tin–bronze fiber brushes with EG sliding against brass discs transforms from adhesive wear to abrasive wear due to the formation of an EG lubricating film.

Keywords:

• Metal fiber brush
• expanded graphite
• friction and wear
• worn surface

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51674304, 51604305), te China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016M592445), and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Central South University. The authors are also grateful for financial support provided by the Shanghai Institute of Astronautical Systems Engineering.