Frictional transfer of iron in oxidative wear conditions during lubricated sliding

The tribological wear of copper or tin bronze or antimony bronzes/steel 45 sliding pairs was studied. Exploitational surface layers (ESL), forming in conditions of oxidative wear during lubricated sliding, were analyzed by AES to explain the iron frictional transfer mechanism. According to the studiesʹ findings, this mechanism does not consist in the transfer of pure iron but in the transfer of very fine, hard and brittle oxide products of wear of the sliding pairʹs steel member to the friction surface of the softer member (copper, bronze), in which they become embedded, and the rubbing of the formed composite structure against the friction surface of the counter-member. The above mechanism explains many cases of excessive wear of steel by bronze reported in tribological literature.