Wear Mechanism of Current Collecting Materials due to Frictional Heat

Abstract

To reduce wear of current collecting materials such as contact wires and contact strips on electric railways, it is necessary to clarify the wear mechanism, especially mechanical wear due to frictional heat. In this study, the authors carried out wear tests using a new rotary wear tester capable of measuring the contact temperature and analyzed the temperature rise using a new contact model that takes into account the number of contacts. From the test and analysis results, the authors classified wear modes into four types based on the softening of materials and clarified that the seizure wear mode occurs when the contact pressure exceeds the hardness of the material.