Effect of electric current and sliding speed on wear rate of metallized carbon strip sliding against copper trolley

Pure copper and copper alloy infiltrated carbon materials were newly developed for the application of the contact strip on the pantograph system of high-speed electric railway. After the compaction and following baking process at an elevated temperature, the shape and size of pores in carbon materials were controlled by the processes developed in this work. The infiltration of pure copper or copper silicon alloy was performed in a specially designed chamber equipped with an evacuation system by a diffusion pump and also a pressurizing system by a high pressure gas. In order to evaluate the performance of metallized carbon strip samples, the wear tests were performed in a wear testing machine which was designed for an actual operating condition for the high-speed electric railway. Wear properties of samples were discussed by tacking various wear testing data.