Investigation of tribological properties of boronised pure Cu journal bearings

Cu based materials are widely used as journal bearings. These materials have a good tribological performance in journal bearings. Pure copper is not generally used due to its low mechanical and wear properties. It is generally used as alloys. In this study, tribological properties of copper bearings manufactured from pure copper were investigated by boronising at 950°C. The SAE 1050 steel shaft was used as counter abrader. Experiments were carried out at 20 N load and 1500 rev min^–1 speed every 30 min for 2·5 h using radial journal bearing wear test rig. As a result, boronising increased wear resistance.