Current-carrying tribological behavior of copper alloy matrix and molybdenum alloy coating at high current density

Improving the current-carrying friction and wear resistance of copper alloy current-carrying friction subsets effectively is a hot topic. In this paper, a method of preparing high melting point molybdenum-based coating on copper alloy surfaces by laser cladding technology is presented. A large current (106 A/m2) comparison experiment is carried out with a self-made current-carrying friction device, and the failure mechanism is analyzed. The results show that the molybdenum-based coating significantly improves the adhesion problem between the friction partner and the copper alloy substrate, while the thickness of the stress layer caused by the current-carrying friction is reduced by about 7 times. The molybdenum-based coating significantly reduces the surface arc rate and has a lower friction interface temperature, thus retaining the Al2O3 self-lubricating phase. The research in this paper is expected to provide extended research ideas for the surface protection of current-carrying friction subsets of copper alloys.