Wear mechanism in graphite–copper electrical sliding contact

The electrical conduction tensor of highly anisotropic graphite is not compatible with the mechanical and tribological tensors that leads to low friction and low mechanical wear rate in sliding electrical contact. This incompatibility increases the electrical resistance and increases thus the thermal effect and the electrical contact wear. The aim of this paper is to present the tribological behaviour of couple and to discuss the effect of the antagonistic mechanical/electrical properties of polycrystalline graphite in thin rubbed layers during sliding electrical tests. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.