The bronze-silver self-lubricating composite under sea water condition

The bronze-silver self-lubricating composites were fabricated by powder metallurgy technique (P/M). The tribological properties of composites sliding against AISI321 stainless steel were studied by a pin-on-disc tribotester in sea water. The silver showed the good lubricating effect in sea water because the silver formed a lubricating film on the worn surface. Although the compactness and mechanical strength of bronze-silver composites decreased due to the addition of silver, the composites showed much better tribological properties as compared with unreinforced bronze in sea water. The composite containing 7 wt% Ag showed the best tribological properties due to the lubricating effect of silver in sea water. The sea water had corrosive effect and lubricating effect during the sliding process.