Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 May 2014
Brass-graphite composites were fabricated by adding graphite/Cu/Zn compact powderusingthe stir-casting technique and their tribological behavior against a brass disk wasstudied under simulated actual conditions, in comparison with the common graphite/brasscomposite The tribological properties of the brass-graphite composite were compared withdifferent percentages of graphite in the structure using the pin-on-disk method. Theexperimental results showed that the 7−9 wt.% graphite creates a better wear resistance in high-pressureapplications. Continuous Zn layers successfully covered the surface of the graphiteparticles, which could contribute to the improvement of interfacial wettability betweengraphite and brass. In this study, brass-graphite composites containing 8.4 ~ 15 wt.% of Ni-coated graphitewere fabricated. The friction coefficient of composites decreased with increasing graphitecontent. The wear resistance was improved by the addition of Ni-coated graphite butdegraded at high graphite content. The results indicated this composite showed much bettermechanical properties and tribological properties in comparison with brass. The compositewith 11.7 wt.% nickel-coated graphite showed the best tribological properties.