Friction and Wear Properties of Antifriction Plate for Support of Reactor Pressure Vessel in a Nuclear Power Plant

With the special reciprocating sliding friction testing machine and tooling, the sliding friction and wear properties of the antifriction plate inlaid with high strength graphite for support of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) were tested under the simulated service condition of nuclear power by the bench test, and the worn surface of graphite was investigated by scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The results show that the average friction coefficient of antifriction plate samples was 0.12 and 0.11 under vertical load of 42.53 MPa (bearing load 3 603 N) and 99 MPa (bearing load 8 386 N) after friction test for 800 cycles. It met the technical requirements of nuclear power design. The dry friction wear mechanism of high strength graphite inlaid in the antifriction plate was abrasive wear, accompanied by fatigue wear.